


The Adventures of Short!Harry

by Mr_Stylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 19-Year-Old Harry, Adorable Harry, Alternate Universe, Asthmatic Harry, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute Harry, Daddy Direction Liam, Flower Child Harry, Fluff and Humor, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Hungry Niall, Insecure Harry, Islamophobia, Kissing, M/M, No Smut, OT5, Protective Harry, Protective Liam, Protective Louis, Protective Niall, Protective Zayn, Small Harry, Sweet Harry, off-screen sex, short harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-10-28 20:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10839276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Stylinson/pseuds/Mr_Stylinson
Summary: Small/short Harry AU, because there just isn't enough of them out there. (No, seriously, I've searched!)At 155.4 centimeters, or 5 foot 1 inch, Harry Styles is the smallest, shortest member of One Direction, easily towered over by his much bigger, taller, and not to mention protective bandmates who are also his amazingly loving boyfriends.





	1. Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unusually warm and sunny spring day prompts the five lads to spend some time outdoors.

Harry lied there on the bed, the cool air from the open window lightly brushing against his face. The forecast had predicted a spot of unusually warm weather, and it wasn't wrong. It was almost too warm to be under the covers, much less under a mass of intertwined bodies, but even as skin stuck to skin due to the developing sweat, no one could be bothered to move or kick the duvet off.

Unable to sleep any longer, Harry opened his eyes, the bedroom alit by the cloud-covered sky of the early morning, birds chirping happily outside, with the occasional sound of a car passing by on the street down below.

He looked around to take in what mess he was in for this morning. Both of his short legs were sandwiched between Liam's much longer ones, whose head rested atop his adjacent hands. Harry was snuggled against Zayn's chest while the older man had an arm wrapped around the smaller figure. Still groggy, Harry didn't fully take into account that Louis didn't have an arm draped over Zayn so that he could hold the youngest member's waist, or how Niall didn't have a hand resting in his curls.

He stretched to the best of his ability and realized that he needed to use the restroom. He gently removed his legs and feet from Liam's, earning a soft moan of unhappiness from the still sleeping lad. He then carefully lifted Zayn's arm off of him and laid it down on the warm, sweaty sheets. When he tried to get up, Zayn's arm automatically reached over and entrapped the curly-haired boy and pulled him back into the Bradford man's chest.

“No, stay.” Zayn mumbled sleepily.

“Zayn...” Harry whined quietly, never forgetting his protesting bladder. “I gotta use the loo.”

“You're not going anywhere.” He responded with a smirk, his eyes still closed. A second arm snaked it's way around the smaller lad's frame, and it was soon followed by yet another pair of arms.

“You belong to us.” Liam breathed from behind him, his voice laced with possessiveness. Harry shifted around uncomfortably, hardly able to move at all, his own arms were pinned to his sides, and the slightly sweaty, sticky arms combined with the much stronger grip that two out of his four boyfriends had on him made slipping out nothing short of impossible. Normally, Harry would be enjoying this, but his urge to urinate made it too much of a challenge.

“Lads, seriously, if you don't let me up, I'll wee all over you.”

And those were the magic words. Zayn's eyes shot open and his and Liam's firm hold on the younger, shorter man was gone in seconds. Emitting a 'thank you', Harry clamored out of bed, finally taking note on how Louis and Niall were missing in action, so to speak. He rushed to the bathroom as fast as his little legs could carry him, Liam and Zayn heard the bathroom door slam shut as they slowly rose up from their lying positions.

“Hey, where's Loubear and Nialler?” Zayn questioned, staring sadly at the vacant spots on the large bed.

“Beats me.” Liam shrugged. He climbed out from under the covers and swung his feet to the floor. “Maybe they're downstairs.” Zayn nodded in agreement as he trailed behind Liam out of the bedroom, the sound of the toilet flushing could be heard from behind the closed door down the hall, followed by water running from the sink. Shortly thereafter, the pitter-patter of small feet galloped their way towards the two men. Grinning, Liam spun around and snatched the unsuspecting boy and lifted him up. “Gotcha!”

Harry squealed. “Lili! Put me down! I'm not a baby!” He laughed, his little arms and legs flailed into thin air.

“True.” Liam agreed between soft kisses all over Harry's dimpled face. “But you're _our_ baby.”

At a measly 5 foot 1, or 155.4 centimeters, Harry stood out among other, more “normal” sized 19-year olds. Of course, insecure little Harry would often be self-conscious about his height, but his boyfriends, albeit much bigger and taller boyfriends, would always be there to reassure him with sweet nothings, reminding him that's he's perfect just the way he is, not to mention how much they, as well as all of their fans found him to be so cute and adorable.

And Harry honestly didn't mind at all in the end. He gets lots of cuddles from the four other lads, they'll carry him if his short legs ever get too tired, or is he becomes stressed after a paparazzi stampede, or if he simply doesn't feel like walking. Almost everyone finds him to be so irresistibly endearing and lovable, it's what helps Harry cope with his small stature.

And even if Harry crosses paths with a less than kind individual or two, he always knows that Louis, Liam, Niall, and Zayn will be there to protect him. As much as he would like to be able to stand up for himself, he simply can't, and once again he'll find himself cursing his petiteness, only for the other boys to wash him over with words of encouragement.

“But I'm not _a_ baby.” Harry insisted, his lower lip stuck out prominently, which honestly did his argument no favours as far as Liam was concerned.

“But you love it, Hazza.” Zayn affirmed warmly as he begun to run his fingers through Harry's curls that they all loved so much.

The littlest member ceased his futile attempts to get free and sighed in defeat. “Okay, you got me, literally.”

Liam chuckled as he brought the small figure to the floor. “Let's go see where Niall and Louis ran off to, yeah?” Harry nodded enthusiastically and Zayn and Liam each took one of his hands into their larger ones and they proceeded down the hall and descended the stairs.

The house was tranquil-- dark and quiet, besides the sound of bare feet connecting with the floor. The TV wasn't on, so that meant that Niall hadn't snuck down early in the morning to watch some show or play video games. The smoke alarm wasn't blaring, indicating that Louis wasn't in the kitchen making breakfast. ”Where the hell could they have gone?” Liam wondered aloud. As if on cue, the front door opened, the two men in question stepped inside, laughing amongst themselves.

“There you two are.” Zayn said calmly. “What have you been scheming up this time?”

The Doncaster man and the Irish lad both grinned. “We went out early while you three were still drawing z's and we brought home a surprise!” Niall explained excitedly. This made Liam feel uneasy.

“Oh, lovely. Dare I ask what this surprise is?” He inquired with much hesitance.

“Don't get your knickers in a twist.” Louis chuckled, still beaming. He gesture towards the door. “Come on out and have a look!”

Meanwhile, Harry was now bouncing up and down on his feet, his curls flying everywhere. “What did you guys get? Huh? I wanna see!” By now, he had pulled away from Zayn and Liam and rushed for the front door.

“Hold up, Haz.” Zayn called. “At least put some shoes on so you don't hurt your feet.”

Harry skidded to a halt just as he had opened the door. “Yes, daddy.” He smirked before grabbing one of Zayn's pairs of shoes which were definitely big for the younger lad and slipping his bare feet inside. Ignoring the sarcastic remark, Zayn and Liam followed suit and they piled out to the front yard.

“Whoa.” Harry stood there and gaped at the sight before him. Louis came up behind him and put his hands on the smaller one's shoulders

“Hm? What you think?” He pried. Zayn let out a whistle and Liam stared at the unusual contraption.

“What _is_ that?”

On the concrete slab stood the strangest bicycle they'd ever seen. The neon green bike had four saddles, and the vehicle couldn't be any shorter than 4 meters in length. Connected behind it was a yellow cart with two wheels on each side. A metal bar extended in front of the frame of the trailer by about one foot, then it curved at a 45 degree angle, going out several more inches where a spring-loaded end hooked into a special metal hitch, which was then secured to the bicycle's rear axle. There was a seat for at least one individual to sit, and a small compartment in the back for storage. Liam was already trying to run through his mind on how someone could possibly even ride the darn thing while Harry continued to gawk at the awkwardly long bike before smiling widely.

“That looks like so much fun!” He clapped his hands, causing Louis' and Niall's mouths to stretch even further. Harry turned to face the four older men. “Can we ride it today? Can we? Please?”

“Of course we can!” Niall bent down to pick up the ecstatic lad. “The weather's gonna be nice, we've got plenty of time off. Anything for our little Hazza.” The blonde brought his smallest boyfriend closer and wrapped him in an affectionate hug, swinging from side to side, Harry's feet dangling with each movement.

“I must interject.” Zayn piped in. “You guys do know how to ride that thing... right?”

“Absolutely!” Louis insisted while laughing. “How do you think we got it home, silly!”

“Ugh.” Liam begun to message his temples. He couldn't tell if the slight headache he felt coming on was from not sleeping as long as he usually preferred, Louis' and Niall's very chipper attitudes towards something that he felt extremely weary of, or a combination of the two.

“Don't be such a spoilsport, Liam! It will be fun!” Niall pledged before planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Yeah!” Harry agreed from Niall's arms. “It will be fun, Liam!”

Normally, Liam would have argued back, whether about the capabilities of handling a 12-foot bicycle, or his lack of desire to take someone to the hospital today, but Harry just _had_ to pull the damn wide-eyed, pouty look, Liam sagged his shoulders, knowing that he'd already lost any argument before one could even begin.

The five young men went back into their home to make breakfast and plan out their day.

Harry collected silverware while Zayn grabbed plates and cups, Louis gathered condiments and beverages and Liam heated up the griddle. He cracked eggs, grated potatoes into hash browns, and mixed up pancake batter while Niall stood over his shoulder the whole time, drooling.

The clouds outside started to dissipate and the area was bathed in sunlight, the cool morning air gradually warmed and the springtime temperature became muggy and stuffy. The heat radiating from the hot griddle wasn't helping, so Zayn opened the kitchen window. Liam finally decided that his shoulder was wet enough and he shoved Niall away. Feeling dejected, the Irishman made a beeline for Harry, who was in the middle of a passionate kiss with Louis.

“Lili's being mean, Harry. I need some cheering up.” Niall pouted, while failing to hide the smirk on his face.

“Shaddup.” Liam drawled jokingly, wiping off his shoulder with a rag.

“See?!”

Harry glanced at the blonde from the corner of his eye, Louis, whom his lips were still connected with, growled in protest when he felt an increase in slack between their mouths. He brought a hand up behind Harry's head and gently but firmly pressed their lips back together. As the snog-fest continued, Harry kept an eye open, looking straight at Niall, guilt evident on the curly-haired lad's face, silently saying _“sorry.”_ Despite the hurt look Niall feigned, it became obvious that he was now taking advantage of the moment. He sniffled loudly and blinked his blue eyes rapidly, trying to hold back false tears. “Harry doesn't love me anymore.” He mummered, looking down at the floor. Harry whined into Louis' lips, still keeping an eye on the older man. Finally, Louis pulled back, he then turned to face Niall himself, with one hand now gripping Harry's curls, but not tight enough for it to hurt.

“I had him first.” He stated in a low, dangerous tone.

“Aw, come on!” Niall fussed, clinging onto the Doncaster boy. “I really need some Harry-therapy right now.”

“I'll help you out, Ni.” Zayn voiced from behind. He wrapped his arms around the still pouting blonde, treating Niall with kisses and even a nip to the ear. The scruff of his beard tickled the back of Niall's neck, which caused him to giggle a little more than he intended.

“Thanks, Z,” Niall relaxed and closed his eyes briefly, nuzzling into Zayn as the raven-haired man continued to coddle him. “Doesn't quite top Harry though.” He commented, now gazing longingly at the Cheshire lad.

“Who says I can't top Harry?” Zayn questioned suggestively, cocking an eyebrow. There was a slight pause where Louis and Niall looked at each other before they burst out laughing. Harry's cheeks went red, but even he managed to flash a small grin.

“Okay! Breakfast is ready!” Liam called loudly, despite being within close proximity of the other boyfriends in the kitchen. Niall cheered and would have probably thrown confetti everywhere or skipped around while tossing flowers if he'd had either on hand. He settled for taking the seat closest to him and plopping down on the chair, then banging the edges of the handles of the silverware gripped in both hands on the table while the others seated themselves and Liam brought the food over.

Harry, as short as he was, wasn't so short that he needed a phone book or a booster seat to reach over the table. And for that, he was thankful. Though he was still limited when it came to reaching things that were up high or far away without some assistance. Liam took Harry's plate and used a spatula to serve him. Of course, Harry would make sure to say 'thank you', simply because he's that nice. Once the plate was loaded with hot food, Liam sat it back down in front of his adorably small boyfriend then proceeded to do the same for the others and himself while purposefully saving Niall for last, which earned him a pout followed by a loud rumble from the Irishman's tummy. Liam just shot the blonde a smug look before filling up their plates and sitting down.

Niall's plate was already empty, licked clean even, while everyone else was barely halfway finished with their own meals. “So, what should the lot of us do today?” He asked before taking a sip of juice.

“Go for a bike ride!” Harry quipped, raising his hands balled into little fists up in the air. Niall chuckled and ruffled the boy's curls.

“Of course, cutie-pie, but what else should we do?”

“According to the weather report, today should feel like summer.” Liam stated while looking at his phone.

“Oi.” Louis grimaced, fanning himself. “It's too early for that.”

“Well, we might as well enjoy it while we have the chance.” Zayn said before wiping his face off with a paper tissue.

“We could go to a park?” Liam suggested.

“Yeah, and we could play footie or something.” Niall added.

“I propose we go to the cinemas.” Louis put forward. “Hardly a better way to spend a hot day than by watching a good film inside a huge, air conditioned room.” Harry perked up at this while Zayn shook his head in astonishment.

“You're unbelievable, Louis, you know that?”

“What are you getting at? Even Harry thinks my idea is the best, don't ya, Haz?” Louis pressed, looking down at his shorter bandmate and wrapping an arm around the boy, shaking him playfully. Harry looked up to meet Louis' beautiful blue eyes. Unable to resist, he leaned forward to kiss the older singer, but had to lift his bum off the seat in order to reach Louis' soft lips. “I must confess,” Harry started once he had settled back into the chair. “A movie does sound like a lot of fun.” Louis pumped his fist in the air and smirked triumphantly before gesturing for Harry to high-five him.

“That settles it, let's go see a movie!”

“All right, all right.” Liam sighed in defeat, picking up his phone. Once again, had it just been Louis in support of going to a movie theater instead of enjoying the lovely weather outside, he would have been more than ready to argue, but so long as Harry was in favor of it, he would be too. His disappointment didn't go unnoticed by Harry, who shoved himself off from his chair and went straight for Liam, climbing onto his lap and wrapping his small arms around the older man's neck.

“Don't worry, Lili, we can ride the new bike that Lou and Ni got to the cinemas.” He nuzzled his face into Liam's, who didn't even try to fight off the smile forming on his face. “We can still enjoy the sunny day.”

Niall wasn't kidding when he said that 'Harry-therapy' is practically a cure-all.

Still grinning, Liam turned and kissed the curly-haired boy, wrapping one arm around the smaller frame on his lap. “Even on the grayest of days, Hazza, you're enough sunshine to light the whole world.” Harry blushed and tore his gaze from Liam and directed it to the floor while giggling at the compliment. Then Zayn came forward, planting soft kisses on Harry's neck, the place where he knew Harry loved to be kissed the most.

“And you light up _our_ world, Harry.” The Bradford lad said in a soothing voice that never failed to calm Harry down, even on bad days.

“All four of us.” Niall joined in, finally getting the Harry-therapy he'd been craving all morning. He put his head over Harry's curls, letting the soft, springy chocolate-coloured locks tickle his face.

“Every single day.” Louis concluded, reaching a hand around Liam to gently caress Harry's cheek, which was practically turning to a brilliant shade of crimson.

“Lads, stooooop!” Harry whined, a huge grin plastered on his burning face. “You're gonna make my cheeks fall off!” Pushing Louis' hand aside, he clasped his hands to his face, as if they were the only things keeping his features intact. Niall promptly removed a hand so that he could poke one of Harry's dimples.

“Us? Stop? Never.” Zayn purred, going in for another kiss. Harry closed his emerald-green eyes, enjoying every second.

“And even if your cheeks did fall off, we'd love you just the same.” Liam promised the shorter lad still on his lap, rubbing a hand up and down Harry's back.

“Okay, but seriously,” Harry had to pause so that his giggle fit could pass before he continued. “My face is getting sore.”

A collective lighthearted chuckle filled the kitchen. Smiling, Liam opened Google Search on his phone to look up show times.

“So, what should we go see today?”

* * *

Once breakfast was gone and the dirty dishes were taken care of, Liam instructed everybody to dress comfortably, both for the sunny weather and for the bicycle ride they were about to embark on, which narrowed down all of their outfits to “anything but skinny jeans.” They all settled for shorts or looser-fitting trousers and t-shirts or tank tops. Harry donned a pair of light-coloured pants and a short-sleeve plaid shirt with dark blue and white squares. He hadn't worn this outfit since they recorded their first music video a few years ago, but since the curly-haired boy hadn't grown an inch since then, the outfit still fit him perfectly. That wasn't the same for the other lads, such as Louis, who was saddened when his red trousers and striped t-shirt no longer fit him, but thanks to the power of the internet, he did manage to find identical articles of clothing.

After everyone was dressed, they stuffed their cell phones, keys, and wallets into their pockets and headed for the door. “Hold up, Hazza.” Zayn called. Harry spun around and hummed with confusion. Zayn revealed a yellow bottle with a blue cap on it in his hand. “Come 'ere, lets put some sunblock on.” Nodding, Harry held up his smaller arms while Zayn squirted some of the white lotion on his hand and then begun rubbing it into Harry's skin, making sure to cover the younger man's hands, arms, chest, neck, nose, and face. Satisfied that his smallest boyfriend was protected from harmful UV rays, he put some on himself before offering it to the others. Louis tried to refuse. “But it's not even summer yet!” However, a stern glare from Liam changed the feathery-haired lad's mind.

They piled outside, making sure that the front door was locked before closing it. They stared at the crazy-looking four-seater bicycle until Niall spoke up. “So, who is sitting where?”

“Well, we know where Harry gets to sit.” Louis smiled, pointing at the trailer attached the rear end of the awkward vehicle.

“Lucky you, love,” Niall said, looking down at the shortest member. “You don't even have to pedal.”

Harry rubbed his lower lip with his finger. “I don't think my feet could reach the pedals anyway.” This made the taller men chuckle. Louis walked over and pulled several colourful bicycle helmets out of the trailer. “Safety first.” He said before handing the orange one to Harry and helping him buckle it to his head, then keeping the red one for himself.

“What do you know about safety?” Liam teased. Louis merely pouted and threw the purple helmet at the smirking man, who caught it with ease. Niall took the blue helmet, and Zayn took the yellow one with green decal on it. Niall then pulled two orange safety flags out of the trailer and stuck the thin white poles into the designated slots on each side of the trailer.

Louis grabbed the handlebars of the long bike while Niall pushed the kickstand up with his foot. Louis backed the bike and trailer up, positioning it so that it was facing the empty street. Then he lifted one leg over the frame and held the handlebars firmly with both hands. Liam took the saddle behind Louis, followed by Zayn with Niall in the back.

“Climb in, Haz! We're going on an adventure!” Louis exclaimed excitedly. Nodding enthusiastically, Harry boarded the trailer and sat down on the seat. Niall glanced behind him, sharing a grin with the ecstatic-looking boy. “Ready, lad?”

“Ready!” Harry called, giving a thumbs-up.

“Right.” Louis took a deep breath of the warm air and exhaled. “Here we go--whoa!” Barely moving a centimeter, the bike wobbled profusely, and Louis had to use a fair amount of strength to keep it upright. Liam, Zayn, and Niall emitted their own sounds of discomfort or fright, or just about how anyone would sound if they came close to body-slamming the pavement.

“Louis,” Liam slowly began. “Are you sure you--”

“Absolutely!” The Doncaster lad insisted. “What, do you doubt my ability to operate a silly bicycle?”

“I didn't say that,” Liam argued before a mischievous smirk appeared on his face. “But I bet your falling skills are phenomenal.”

“Oh, yeah?” Louis countered. “Just watch me!” With a quiet grunt, he used one foot on the ground to propel the bike forward while the other pushed down on the pedals. Once the vehicle was in motion, he took his foot off the ground and put it on the other pedal, the other men followed suit.

Harry covered his mouth and his eyes widened as he watched his four boyfriends go sideways and land on the asphalt with a collection of grunts followed by Niall's laughter. The independent spring-loaded mechanism on the trailer ensured that it stayed upright even if the tow vehicle did not. “Are you lads okay?” Harry asked worriedly, clamoring out of the trailer to check over his fallen bandmates, ready to kiss away any boo-boos they might have accumulated.

After multiple tries, Liam ended up switching spots with Louis, and after a few haphazard acceleration attempts on his own part, they were finally on the move, and they never fell over once.

“Told you.” Liam boasted from the front, a smirk was evident on his hidden face. Louis simply bored daggers into the back of the man's head.

“Shaddup.”

* * *

After seeing two movies, where Niall spent both films gorging himself in buttery popcorn, the five boyfriends hopped back on their quad-seater and trailer and pedaled back home. Liam couldn't help but notice an empty looking park, where the green grass gleamed in the sunlight, with the shade of the occasional tree, the blue skies, the birds chirping, the pretty flowers. It was far too tempting. Liam steered the long bicycle into the fortunately vacant car park and slowed the vehicle to a stop.

“What are we doing here, Li?” Zayn asked from behind Louis.

“The weather is fine, we've got plenty of time, let's go for a walk.” Liam proposed. “The exercise will do us all good, especially Niall considering how much he ate at the cinemas.”

“But we're already exercising!” Louis protested, pointing at their bike.

“Yeah? But what about Hazza?” Liam disputed.

“Actually,” Harry spoke, already climbing out of the trailer. “A walk sounds very lovely.”

Liam beamed. “That settles it. Everybody hop off.”

Louis wasn't willing to admit that he soon found himself enjoying the warm breeze and the fresh air as they strolled down a dirt path through the woods. Niall scanned every little tree and bush they passed, seeing if he could find any edible fruit or berries to nibble on. Harry bent over and gathered yellow dandelions from the side of the trail, manipulating the stems together to create a flower crown that would soon rest atop his curls. Zayn and Liam were trying to identify various birds up in the trees.

Harry was nearly finished with the flower crown when he spotted a bunch of daisies a couple meters away that were surrounded by a group of short, erect green plants with leaves. The curly-haired lad walked over and reached for the daisies, paying no mind the leafy plants until his arm came into contact with one and suddenly his skin became very itchy. _Stinging nettles,_ he realized. He recoiled quickly and fell on his bum on the grass, his eyes started to water. He tried to blink the tears away, not wanting to appear childish over some stupid plant, but the irritation on his arm became overwhelming and he failed to hold back a whimper as he tried not to scratch his arm, knowing that it would only make the itching worse.

Ever the vigilant boyfriends they were, Niall, Zayn, Liam, and Louis immediately surrounded the weeping lad, ushering him with questions.

“What happened, baby?”

“You all right, love?”

“Did you hurt yourself, Harry?”

“Your arm looks painful, honey. Did you get into something?”

Harry sniffled and pointed at the patch of stinging nettles with his good arm. “Bloody nettles.” Louis cursed. He walked over, taking his shoe and begun stomping the offending plants into oblivion. “Rubbish greenery.” Once he was certain that he had avenged his shortest boyfriend's pain and suffering, he reached down and plucked every daisy he could grasp and handed the white and pink flowers to Harry, who smiled just enough for his dimples to vaguely appear. “Thanks, Loubear.”

“Anything for you, Haz.” Louis said fondly, bending down to lift the smaller figure in his arms and steal a kiss.

“We should go to a shop and get something for Harry's arm.” Zayn suggested.

“Good idea, Zayn.” Liam agreed. “All right, boys, let's head out.”

“Ooh! Ooh!” Niall piped in, jumping up and down, raising a hand, making sure he grabbed everyone's attention. “Can we get some snacks while we're there?”

Liam, Louis, and Zayn groaned while Harry giggled.

* * *

After they arrived home, Zayn helped Louis store away their bicycle someplace safe while Liam carried Harry with his recently treated arm to the house, Niall trailed behind them, each arm carrying a brown grocery sack filled to the top. Once they had entered the flat, they went to the kitchen where Liam sat Harry down on the counter and examined the boy's arm. “How's it feel now, babe?”

“It doesn't itch anymore.” Harry confirmed.

“Good.” Liam smiled before kissing the youngest's cheek.

“And that's just one of the things I dislike about the warm season.” Louis quipped once he entered the kitchen with Zayn. They sat down on the bar stools and Louis reached for a bag of potato crisps, snatching the plastic sack just in time to avoid Niall's slap.

“Well, you're in luck, Tommo.” Zayn said as he brought an arm around the older man, his phone in the other hand. “The weather will return to normal by tomorrow.”

“Whoo!” Louis cheered. “This calls for a celebration.” He pushed the bag of crisps aside and got up from his seat, making his way to the freezer. Niall promptly made a grab for the bag, but Zayn quickly seized it and held it out of the blonde's reach. He picked a crisp out of the bag and ate it slowly while looking smug at the glaring Irishman.

Louis returned with a tray of grape popsicles. “Anyone fancy an ice lolly?”

“Yes, please!” Harry called from the counter. Liam brought the younger singer to the floor and Harry rushed over to the other counter to claim one of the frozen treats which Louis kindly handed to him.

“I want my crisps.” Niall grumbled, still glaring at Zayn, who then lifted the bag in the air. “Liam, catch!” Before Niall could react, the bag of crisps flew over his head and landed in Liam's hands, he quickly popped a crisp in his mouth before tossing the sack to Louis, who then returned it back to Zayn.

“No fair!” Niall cried. Harry simply giggled as he watched the hungry lad literally run circles around the kitchen island in a futile attempt to reclaim his precious snack.

Later on, they all sat in the living room watching TV, Niall chose to sit alone on one of the recliners, hugging his bag of crisps possessively, glancing over at the other four lads on the sofa, making sure that none of them were trying to sneak over and snatch his food. But they never did, they were all too engrossed with coddling over their shortest boyfriend. Between Zayn kissing his neck, to Liam messaging his curls, to Louis full on snogging him, Niall was quickly regretting his seating arrangements. The lonely blonde rolled up the bag of crisps, making a prominent crinkling noise and sat it down on the floor before making his way over to the sofa. He cleared his throat, putting a pause to his other boyfriends' love-fest.

“Finally decided to join us?” Louis smirked, knowing well enough that Niall hated being the one left out of a group-Harry-therapy session.

“Have you gotten permission from your bag of crisps?” Zayn goaded.

“Guys,” Harry whined, having long since gotten over teasing the Irish boy. “Knock it off. Let Nialler in.”

Niall beamed. “Thank you, Harry.” He turned around and squeezed his way in between Louis and Harry. Liam rested his face against Zayn's head, who snuggled into Liam's chest while keeping one arm around Harry's narrow shoulders. Liam held an arm around Zayn and Harry, settling a hand in Niall's hair while the blonde wrapped an arm around Harry's other shoulder cuddling the smaller boy like a teddy bear. Louis leaned onto Niall, bringing his arms around the other lad, with one finger playing with Harry's curls while planting soft kisses on the back of Niall's neck, and the other arm going across the sofa, his hand resting halfway between Liam's and Zayn's shoulders.

Such a picture perfect moment so pleasant and content, they made sure to stay that way for a good long while.

“Lads?” Harry asked softly. Above him, he heard each of the other four boys utter some kind of sound, indicating that he had their attention. “I love you all, so, so much.”

Smiles galore and even a stray tear or two as they all responded. “We love you too, Harry.”

He could handle losing it all-- the fans, the notoriety, the money, all of that could disappear and Harry wouldn't mind at all. As long as the five of them were together, that would be all he could ever ask for. And he knew that the other lads held similar feelings. They couldn't care less about fame and fortune, and while it was a nice perk, it would never compare to what they had among each other and their makeshift "family", and they wouldn't have it any other way.

 


	2. Interview Marathon Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is scheduled to do multiple interviews in one day by himself, and without any of his boyfriends by his side. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While proof-reading, I couldn't help but notice how rushed this seemed. Though I am dealing with a bit of a cold, and it's impacting my energy and thought-process, at least that's my excuse.

When Harry opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was sunshine. Or rather, Niall's hair, but is there really a difference? The Irishman was lying on his back, he was facing the ceiling. He somehow sensed that he was being watched and his eyelids slowly lifted. He turned his head and faced Harry, who was staring at him fondly. Niall smiled and leaned over to connect their lips. “Morning, cutie.”

“Morning, Nini.” Harry closed his eyes and smiled. They kissed and nuzzled each others faces. Niall brought a hand behind Harry's head and slowly stroked the younger man's hair, the soft springy curls almost made it seem like his hand was floating over clouds. Niall then pulled Harry into his chest and snuggled his small boyfriend. Harry contently breathed in Niall's scent while he lied there in the blonde's protective embrace. A stir coming from behind Harry indicated that more of the bed's occupants were awakening. This was confirmed when an arm draped over the smaller lad. Niall smiled and looked up. “Morning, Louis.”

“Morning, Nialler.” The Doncaster man mumbled before he sighed and pushed himself closer to Harry. “And good morning, Hazza.”

“Good morning, Loubear.” Harry turned his head so that he could kiss the feathery-haired lad. A seething inhale emitted from behind Louis and Zayn rose up, somewhat groggy. He looked over and smiled at the sight of Harry being coddled. Wanting in on the action, Zayn laid partially on top of Louis and brought an arm over, he gently cupped Harry's cheek and the Cheshire lad met his gaze with his beautiful emerald eyes. A loud yawn erupted from behind Niall and Liam sat up. He sniffed and turned to see a sight that made him coo.

“You're so cute, Harry.” Liam smiled as he poked one of the younger singer's dimples, which made Harry giggle.

“I'm so lucky to have you lads.” Harry stated, savoring the wonderful morning. As far as he was concerned, there was hardly a better way to wake up than with his four boyfriends, together, exactly where they belonged.

“No way.” Louis argued. “It is us who are lucky to have you, love.”

Harry truly cannot fathom life without these boys, and he knows that they feel the same way about him as well as each other. Who would of thought that a simple audition on a competition TV show would lead to all this? Sure, they were the biggest boyband, and quite possibly the biggest band in general, in the entire world. They had millions of fans across the globe, they were rich, they were famous, and it all started with one visit to The X-Factor, all while under the assumption that none of them would make it very far, much less beyond the first step. And even still, not once, but twice they had to experience the crushing blow of being eliminated, and they were so close too. It was when they progressed through the show when it finally hit them: This could very well be something big, a dream come true. It was then that it was no longer just “for fun”, it was their potential career at stake. And yet, even after two devastating losses, here they are, their names more familiar than any of the other contestants who actually won on the show. They went from five ordinary young men who simply wanted to see what would happen, and it paid off more than they could ever imagine.

But most importantly, they had each other.

Whether it was fate or pure luck that they would ultimately find love in each others arms, it is precisely what they are most thankful for, even more than the fame or the money. You could have all the money in the world, and even still you couldn't buy a relationship like what they had. You could be the most recognized person on the planet, and you could still feel lonely. So what if they aren't the richest or the most famous? That didn't matter at all. Even if they were dirt poor and utter nobodies to the rest of the world, the five of them being together could easily put any amount of notoriety or wealth to shame.

And if you were to ask Zayn, Niall, Louis, and Liam, having Harry in their life made them feel richer than every millionaire and billionaire combined.

Fame and fortune is a side effect of what they do for a living, but there was also some other responsibilities, such as communicating and interacting with the world via interviews. Sometimes doing several within a single day, something Louis dubbed as “interview marathon day.”

And interview marathon days are bittersweet.

Sometimes they were fun, they could actually be a genuinely pleasant and enjoyable experience. Sometimes they were boring, especially when the same questions were asked, the same answers to give, the whole process becoming automatic and lackluster. The worst kinds were the more uncomfortable ones, where romantic relationships became the primary topic, it was especially stressful when there are cameras on you, when you weren't even prepared to give a response to a specific inquiry, and you have to say something impromptu, or just flat-out lie with as straight of face as you can muster. Fortunately, One Direction's management team usually provides the interviewers a list ahead of time, stating what questions are not allowed, virtually everything that has to do with romance makes it on that list, but sometimes the interviewers will try to be sneaky.

Regardless of what type of interviews had to be done, having to do multiple of them in one day can be quite tiring. Radio interviews were better than TV shows when it came to interview marathons, as there was less time spent in a dressing room. But whether they had to do over a dozen interviews in one day, or someone would ask them an anxiety-inducing question, they would always come out fine by the end of the day, because they had each other for support, they had each other to love. Liam, the famed Daddy Direction, Louis, the sassy, sarcastic prankster, Zayn, the quiet, sometimes stoic yet gorgeously handsome one, Niall, the Irish ball of sunshine that he was, and of course, little Harry, the small lad from Holmes Chapel, with his radiant green eyes, cute dimples, and perfect curls. Combine that with his short height and it can require a lot of willpower not to just scoop up the boy, hug him, kiss him, spoil him rotten, anything to make him smile.

Not that the older, taller members of the band don't do that anyway.

This time would be different however, because Harry's presence was the only one required for today's interview marathon, and none of the boys were happy about it, especially poor Harry.

Harry wouldn't have Liam there, sitting on his older boyfriend's lap, Zayn wouldn't be there to occasionally ruffle his hair. Niall wouldn't be there to sneak in an affectionate caress, Louis wouldn't be there to whisper dirty things in his ear. It's not like Harry hasn't done solo interviews in the past, whether on radio or TV, they simply were never as engaging without his boys with him, Harry always felt like he had to try harder to smile and sound like he actually wanted to be there when he's by himself. And having to spend the whole entire day doing back-to-back interviews alone sounded like pure torture.

The lads had kindly offered to accompany their smallest boyfriend, but Harry didn't like the idea of them having to wait in the lobby for who knows how many hours, likely to just sit there and be bored out of their minds. As nice as it sounded to have them all close by, Harry couldn't help but feel too selfish. Sure, he was going to suffer today, but that didn't mean that he was willing to allow the other boys to suffer too, that just seemed unfair.

It was kind of a big deal, because even Niall tore his attention away from his syrup-drenched waffles to ask Harry yet again if the curly-haired lad wanted one or more of them to come with him, even if they couldn't actually be with him during the interviews, they would at least be waiting for him once he was finished.

“I really can't ask you lads of that.” Harry insisted politely, picking at his own waffle, eating it at a more casual pace.

“And you're sure?” Louis questioned for the umpteenth time.

“Yes, really.” Harry affirmed. He put on a convincing smile. “I'll be fine.” Zayn rested an elbow on his left hand, his other hand rubbing the stubble on his chin, he nodded slowly. “If you say so.”

It was just a natural thing of them all wanting to baby Harry, they loved to do it, and Harry loved it when they did it. But little Harry was still a grown man, and the boys weren't about ready to infringe on their shortest boyfriend's independence.

Harry continued to reassure them all with sweet kisses which they gladly returned. Niall's in particular were exceptionally sweet thanks to all the syrup he consumed. Once breakfast was cleaned up, they snuggled on the couch while waiting for Paul to arrive and pick Harry up.

“You nervous about today, Haz?” Liam asked concernedly, an arm wrapped around the boy's shoulders. Harry thought for a moment. He's done plenty of interviews by himself before, but he's never done an “interview marathon” without at least one of the other boys with him. He was entering uncharted territory as far as he could tell, it honestly did make him a little nervous, but he also felt excited. This would be a new experience for Harry, and he could only hope that it would go well. Now, if by some odd chance that every interview he is scheduled to do today goes nice and smoothly, the day shouldn't be all that bad, but he did know that that was asking for a lot, but one can hope, right?

“A little, but I should be okay.” Harry finally said. He then stuck out his chest a little, trying to make his small frame appear larger and more muscular than it really was. “I can tough through it.” He spoke confidently.

“If you insist.” Louis sagged his shoulders in defeat, but he noticed the slight frown Harry shot him. The older singer forced a smile and ruffled Harry's curls. “Good on you, though, mate. You'll be great I'm sure.” This seemed to satisfy their littlest member, whose dimples became visible once again. Harry nuzzled his face into the Doncaster lad's chest, pulling away from Liam, who made an upset noise. Niall moved over and planted himself on Liam's lap.

“Get off of me, fatty.” Liam complained, trying rather weakly to push the blonde off from his thighs.

“Hey!” Niall cried. “I am not fat!”

“You're still big, now get off.”

“You always let Harry sit on your lap.”

“Harry's much smaller than you, and he doesn't eat out half a shop like you do.”

Zayn, Louis, and Harry chuckled as the two squabbled at each other. The playful banter ended when there was a knock at the door. Liam finally got the nerve to actually shove Niall to the floor. After landing on his bum, the Irishman turned his head and stuck his tongue out at a smirking Liam. Zayn got up from his seat next to Louis and walked to the door, he looked through the peephole before opening it, revealing their security team. “Hazza? Paul's here.” The Bradford man called.

“Coming!” Harry replied. He hesitantly removed himself from Louis' arms and stood on his feet. It was then he examined himself and realized what little effort he put into his outfit. A pair of black skinny jeans, almost a trademark of his. White socks, dark blue Converse, and a blue Jack Willis t-shirt that used to belong to Louis, but the older man has since grown out of it while it still fit Harry. He furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to stare at himself. The other three sensed his uncertainty and came to the rescue. “You look great, Haz, not that you ever need to ask us.” Niall commented, which rewarded him with a closed-lip smile and flushed cheeks. “Thank you, Ni.” Harry went over and exchanged a quick kiss with the blonde who was still seated on the floor at Liam's feet. He then proceeded to hug and smooch the other two before heading towards the door, waving and saying “Love you, guys!”

“We love you too, Harry!” The three of them called. Harry arrived at the door, stopping to plant a quick peck on his fourth boyfriend's cheek. “Got everything?” Zayn asked. “Wallet, cell phones, keys?” Harry patted the annoyingly small pockets of his Women's skinny jeans and nodded with a smile. “Good.” Zayn breathed before stealing one last kiss on Harry's pink lips. “Have a good day, love.”

Paul watched and waited patiently as the two exchanged 'I love you's'. Once Harry had vacated the house, he lead the curly-haired boy to the waiting van. “Your first interview today is with your buddy, Nick.” The bodyguard explained. Harry acknowledged as he climbed into the car. As they drove, Harry took a deep breath as it finally sank in some more. He was actually going to spend a whole day doing interviews without any of his boyfriends with him. He was no longer sure whether he should feel excited or scared. But then he remembered what transpired earlier, the boys constantly fretting over him on if he could actually handle it or not. He breathed a chuckle and shook his head. Of course he could handle this. He may be small, but he's still a full grown adult-- well, maybe not full grown, but he's an adult nonetheless. It's probably a good thing that he's taking this on by himself, a reminder that he still has his independence and he can and should be able to deal with some things on his own. A new sense of pride developed and excitement was soon all that he felt, doing an interview marathon alone no longer sounded torturous. He could only imagine how proud the lads would be when he comes home later today, having completed an interview marathon by himself and survived.

Harry couldn't wait for the day to begin.

* * *

Harry couldn't wait for the day to be over.

Management fumbled big time. As it turns out, Harry had been scheduled for back-to-back interviews, quite literally. The poor boy barely had time for a toilet break, or even a quick snack out of a vending machine before he was being ushered off to another studio, office building, or dressing room. There was definitely no opportunity to even eat lunch. He recalls watching sadly as so many restaurants passed by as they drove from interview spot to interview spot, and at that point he would have even settled for a crappy McDonald's cheeseburger. During one of the radio interviews, a request had been made for a bottle of water, but the intern was new and they wound up getting lost somewhere in the building. By the time they had returned, the interview was finished, Harry had left and didn't get his water. He was starving, dehydrated, and totally knackered. He leaned back on the seat and closed his eyes, trying to rest as they drove back to the flat he and his boyfriends all shared.

Even Paul was confused by the haphazardly scheduled interviews, he made a pledge to bring it up with the boys' management team. Once they arrived, Harry thanked the man and slowly got out of the van. He refrained from dashing eagerly to the house, not wanting to aggravate the currently mild headache he'd developed earlier, likely due to the combined hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. The tired young man trudged into the home, he could hear the TV playing, and Niall laughing at something. Harry smiled weakly as he shut the door and called out. “I'm home.” Four sets of footsteps padded their way to the door, Harry's smile grew and he stretched out his little arms. Niall effortlessly scooped him up and the four taller men coddled over their adorably small boyfriend. Harry finally relaxed his shoulders which he hadn't realized were so tense, he nestled his tired head into the crook of Niall's neck, he could almost fall asleep right then and there, he was that worn out.

“How was your day, babe?” Liam questioned. “Did it go well?”

Harry sighed through his nose. “It could have gone better.” Everyone frowned at this. Zayn was the next to speak. “Why is that, honey?” The raven-haired lad inquired softly. Over the next couple of minutes, Harry tiredly explained what had all happened, the non-stop rush, the lack of nourishment and fluid, his slightly throbbing head. Reactions from the other boys were a mixture of sadness and anger. Louis was especially mad. By the time Harry finished, all four of them had made mental notes to give management a piece of their mind for screwing up so badly. It likely was not on purpose, but someone clearly messed up, and the boys weren't about ready to let whoever it was get away with it, not as long as their sweet little Harry is hurting because of it.

“Come on, lads, let's get Harry something yummy for his tummy.” Niall proposed. Harry blinked tiredly as he was carried into the kitchen and sat down on one of the chairs at the table.

“But it's my night to make supper.” Harry protested, though it came out as more of a coherent mumble. He received four shaking heads as a response. “Not a _chonce_ , Hazzabear.” Niall stated firmly. “You just sit there and relax, we'll handle it.” With no room or energy to argue, Harry watched as Liam heated a frying pan and Louis pulled a package of ground beef out of the freezer. Zayn started chopping tomatoes, onions, and lettuce while Niall shredded cheese. Liam cooked the meat, adding Mexican-style seasonings while Louis heated a can of refried beans in the microwave. Niall retrieved a box of hard taco shells out of the pantry and sat them on the counter. Within record time, a plate with two tacos was placed in front of Harry, he uttered a 'thanks' and was about to dig in when he hesitated, despite his grumbling stomach. Louis noticed this and smiled, he found the boy's politeness and manners so freaking adorable. “Go ahead and eat, Haz, you don't have to wait for us.” He said while he made his own tacos. Blushing, Harry nodded before inhaling his dinner, he almost didn't realize the glass of water Liam had sat next to his plate.

For the first time that they could remember, Harry out-ate Niall. The poor lad hadn't eaten since breakfast after all.

Harry sat on the sofa, snuggled under a duvet with Zayn, _Love Actually_ playing on TV. The other three men had returned to the kitchen, Niall said he wanted to whip up something special for dessert, but he needed at least two more sets of hands to help him carry it all back to the living room, much to the confusion of everyone else. When the three returned, they were carrying five warm coffee mugs, Louis and Liam each had two in their grasps, while Niall carried one, which he handed to Harry. Harry pulled his hands out from under the duvet and accepted his favourite rainbow mug. He was caught off guard by the mound of whipped cream with chocolate drizzled over it along with colourful sprinkles scattered about floating at the top of the cup. He stuck his tongue through the whipped cream, reaching the familiar taste of hot chocolate beneath it. He smiled and hummed contently as he slowly sipped the sweet drink.

They finished their beverages and sat the empty mugs on the coffee table. While the movie continued to play on the TV, Harry noticed how all four of his boyfriends were dedicating a limb, body, or appendage to cuddle him rather than each other. They were especially clingy after they learned what he had endured today, considering that they wouldn't even let him make dinner, not that he was complaining. His headache became a distant memory as he relaxed under the barrage of protective arms, soft kisses, comforting strokes against his curls, and an occasional sweet nothing from the four men he loved so much.

This was followed by a stern promise that they were never letting Harry do a solo interview marathon by himself again, and Harry felt no reason to argue.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think. (if you would be so kind.)


	3. Chocolate Chip Biscuits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When there is free time but it's storming outside, what are five certain lads to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm over my cold now. Yay?
> 
> I'd like to express my appreciation to those who have read and/or left kudos, bookmarked, etc. Thank you so much!

Management was embarrassed to say the very least.

When they learned about what had happened with Harry, they promptly looked into it. Allegedly, they discovered nothing more than a silly little computer glitch as the cause of yesterday's events. They apologized profusely to Harry, and even gave all of the boys a whole three weeks off. This didn't immediately satisfy Louis, who accused them of fabricating their excuse, he was still plenty pissed off about what his smallest boyfriend had to put up with the day before, but Harry eventually convinced him to drop it, after many reassurances that he was okay and that there was no need for Louis to cause a scene.

“I still think their story is utter bullsh--”

“It's fine, Lou, all right?” Harry said, crawling onto the older man's lap, who was sat on the reclining chair and cut him off mid-rant with a kiss. “Three weeks off is good enough for me.” Louis took a deep breath and eased the tension in his shoulders. As long as something satiated Harry, that was all Louis could ever want in the end. “Just stop complaining about it, yeah?” Blue stared into green before Louis silently nodded. Harry perked up at this and smiled. “Good.”

“All right then,” Liam voiced from the sofa next to Niall and Zayn, eager to change the subject. “Three whole entire weeks off, what do you lads reckon we should do?” Everyone went quiet for a minute, they scanned around the house, studying various objects, trying to get some ideas. Finally, Harry looked out the window. “We could go on another bike ride? Maybe go to another park-- one with no stinging nettles?” The curly-haired boy proposed. Louis, who was now leaning back on the chair with Harry on his chest didn't seem readily thrilled, but Harry didn't notice. Niall beamed and got up from the sofa, walking towards the reclining chair. “You know what, Haz?” The Irishman started as he picked Harry up from Louis' lap and begun to playfully toss the small 19-year old into the air, but not high enough to hit Harry's head on the ceiling. The Cheshire lad's startled squeals quickly turned into happy laughter and Louis' pout over losing his cuddle buddy soon vanished. “That sounds like--”

Niall's words were cut off when the flat vibrated and a loud crackle emitted from outside followed a sudden downpour of rain. The sudden noise spooked Harry and he immediately clinged to the blonde. Harry wasn't necessarily afraid of storms, but the unexpected loud sound was what made him jumpy. Niall pulled Harry closer and hugged the shaking boy tight as they gazed out the window. The light from the cloud-covered sky that had once lit up the house was practically gone. “...Something we should do a different day.” Niall finished. Just then, another loud rumble could be heard as the rain refused to let up outside.

Zayn whistled as he watched the water pour down the window pane. “It's awfully nasty out there.” Louis smirked and folded his arms beneath his head, resting it on the chair. “My kinda weather.” Liam shook his head at the lazy man, who then looked up and met gazes with the younger bandmate. “What? It's not like we can do much outside.” Louis defended. “That doesn't mean we have to do nothing, either.” Liam argued. “Come on, boys, think of something.” He encouraged. Zayn hummed as he looked around, taking note of the dirty mugs from the previous evening still on the coffee table, some dust was gathering on the TV, and it even looked like there was a cobweb on the ceiling in one corner of the room. “This place could use some tidying up.” He begun. “Perhaps we should take some time to clea--” He wasn't able to finish when a hand went over his mouth. “No!” Louis begged, having somehow gotten up from his position on the reclining chair and made it over to the sofa in record time. _“Anything_ but that! _”_

Niall, along with Harry who was still in the Irish lad's arms, both giggled at Louis' desperation to not have to clean the house. Liam smirked. “Well, now I know how to get Louis out of bed in the morning.” Louis squinted his eyes at Liam and pouted. Niall put Harry down on the floor and the little lad trotted over to the sofa, climbing onto Louis. “Come on, Lou, cleaning is fun!” Louis turned and gawked at Harry. “I don't comprehend these words of which you speak.” The Doncaster man stated.

It was no secret that Harry and Louis were polar opposites when it came to cleaning. Harry loved to clean, he enjoyed it, and Louis would often take advantage of this, considering the fact that the feathery-haired lad loathed to clean, and would only find himself ever doing such a thing when Liam forced him to.

“Ooh!” Niall exclaimed. “Ya know what we should do?” Harry removed himself from Louis and ran back over to Niall, jumping up and down like a child waiting in line at an amusement park. “What, Nialler? What should we do?”

“Make Louis clean the house?” Zayn suggested with a smirk, earning him a death glare from his oldest boyfriend. “Maybe...” Niall joked as he reached down and lifted a grinning Harry up into his arms. He could never get tired of holding the adorable lad. “I was actually thinking that we should make biscuits-- or cookies as people in the States call 'em.” Harry's emerald eyes sparkled as the words left Niall's mouth. “Chocolate chip?” The youngest member asked hopefully. The blonde looked down at the cute, dimpled face in his arms and grinned. “But of course.” He affirmed, bringing his head down and rubbing their noses together, causing Harry to giggle. “Before we get into that,” Liam started. “Let's check the kitchen and make sure we actually have everything we need.”

“What, flour, sugar, and uh, eggs, right?” Louis questioned. “Oh, and chocolate chips. Surely we have all those things already.” The other four stared at the older man incredulously. “Louis, I'm pretty sure you would starve without us.” Zayn chuckled. Louis seemed taken aback. “What's that supposed to mean?” He squeaked. He received no response as they shuffled towards the kitchen, Louis getting up from the sofa and trailing behind them.

The five boyfriends piled into the kitchen, they started opening up cabinet and pantry doors, thoroughly searching for the necessary ingredients. Zayn was looking through a long cabinet up above and Harry wanted to help him look through it so he would finish sooner, but the short 19-year old couldn't reach up high enough, much less see inside. He studied the countertop briefly before placing his fingers on it and pressing his palms to the side. With a small grunt, he hoisted himself up, settling one knee on the counter before bringing up the other. Now finally able to reach the high cabinet, Harry joined Zayn as they scoured through the numerous bottles of spices. While picking up bottles and putting them aside, a plastic bottle of cooking oil fell forward, Harry instinctively recoiled back to avoid being hit in the face by the container, but at that moment, he had forgotten his current situation and he went over the counter edge. He gasped as he plummeted backwards, but rather than slam into the tile floor, he landed in not one but two pairs of arms. Wide eyes stared into concerned ones as Liam, Niall, Louis and Zayn stood over the shaken boy. “You all right, Haz?” Niall asked. Harry calmed his breathing and nodded. “I'm okay.”

“Be more careful, baby.” Liam told their adorably small boyfriend as he and Niall settled Harry onto his feet. “We don't want you getting hurt.” Harry sighed and looked solemnly at the high cabinet. “I just wanted to help Z.” He mumbled sadly. Zayn bent down and wrapped an arm around Harry's narrow shoulders while planting soft kisses on the curly-haired lad's neck. “It's all right, Harry. Look, why don't you help Louis with the pantry and the rest of us will finish the higher shelves, yeah?” Harry agreed but he wasn't really satisfied.

Although Harry tried his best to not let his height bother him, sometimes he simply could not help but dwell in the negative aspects. He was the only one who needed his microphone stand adjusted at shows to accommodate his small stature. He always took the longest to be tailored because it's harder finding clothing for men of his puny size. He was always the most likely to become lost or separated in a crowd and would wind up being carried by either one of the boys or their security team. Whenever Harry stood next to most people, he had to look up to see their faces. If he wanted to rest his entire back against a chair or sofa, his feet would be left dangling above the floor while it seemed like everyone else had to stretch their legs out so that their knees didn't go up too high. Most of the fans he encountered stood higher than him, even the younger ones. It felt like the only ones who were actually shorter than Harry were all the little girls, and the occasional little boy.

Harry had finished his search on the lower shelves of the pantry just as Louis came up empty while looking through the higher ones. “Looks like we've got to do some grocery shopping _again_.” Liam emphasized while glaring at Niall, who feigned innocence. “Why you looking at me?” Liam silently walked over and opened the fridge, pointing out the almost bare shelves. The only things that occupied the icebox were two apples, a carton of milk with only a bottom full of liquid in the container, and a carton of eggs-- with only one egg remaining. There was also a small block of cheddar cheese, with a big bite taken out of it.

The thunder and lightning had ceased, but the rain continued to fall. Daddy Direction Liam instructed everyone to dress for the nasty weather. Everyone pulled on sweatshirts and grabbed coats or jackets. Harry let out a muffled sound as he haphazardly worked his way into his purple Jack Willis hoodie. Holding back a chuckle, Zayn finished putting on his own jacket and bent over and aided Harry. The curly-haired boy blushed out of embarrassment for needing help dressing himself, though his red cheeks were somewhat concealed by the hood of his sweatshirt.

Liam grabbed his car keys, having decided to give Paul a break and drive themselves to the grocer's. He stood at the front door, sporting a purple raincoat. He did a headcount, making sure everyone was present. When he only counted three excluding himself, he frowned and walked further into the flat. He saw Louis lying down on the sofa, his hands resting beneath his head on the armrest and one leg was bent at the knee with his shoe on the cushion. The other leg was folded and perched on top of his knee, his other shoe swinging around in the air. The oldest boyfriend was fully dressed, but it didn't look like he planned to move any time soon.

Liam cleared his throat. “We're leaving, Louis.”

Louis removed a hand from his head and waved it dismissively. “Have fun.”

Liam grinned evilly. “Fine. While we're out, you can clean up the place.” In a snap, Louis leaped to his feet and sprinted to the door, Niall promptly moved himself and Harry out of the way so they didn't get run over as the Doncaster lad quickly snatched his coat off the rack and put it on in a hustle. Zayn shot the older singer a smug look while Louis pouted in response.

* * *

They pulled into an empty space in the car park and Liam shut off the engine. He covered his head with the hood on his raincoat to shield himself from the assaulting droplets. Once everyone was out of the car, he pressed the button on the remote and locked the doors, then they hurried to the building. Zayn grabbed a trolley and before Harry knew it, he was hoisted into the air and he landed in the basket. As the short 19-year old took in what just happened, Niall, who was the one who put him in the cart, patted him on the head. Harry was about to protest but when he saw how big the grocer's was and how surprisingly crowded it was, he silently decided that riding in the trolley sounded more appealing than walking. Harry couldn't have his legs stretched out all the way-- he wasn't quite that short, so they bent slightly, and an occasional patron shot the boys a weird look as they passed by.

“Okay, first we need...” Liam trailed off as he tried to remember what exactly they all needed. Louis looked around the store with a bored expression. His blue eyes lit up as he walked over to a shelf and removed a jar of molasses and brought it back to the group. “Haz, Ni.” Louis called, the Irishman and the Cheshire lad both hummed and gave Louis their attention. Smirking, Louis showed them the molasses jar before taking his thumb and covering the first three letters on the label, making it look like the jar read “asses”. Niall burst out in joyful laughter, which drew even more attention to the five boyfriends while Harry giggled more quietly. “Louis.” Liam and Zayn both scolded, but the feathery-haired man's smirk never faltered.

Twenty minutes, and plenty of jokes later, they purchased all the necessary ingredients to make cookies, as well as some other food so they wouldn't starve, assuming Niall wouldn't eat most of it on the drive home. They put the food in the car and headed back to their flat. Niall was sat in the back with Harry and Louis, who both pledged to guard the groceries with their lives should the blonde decide to snack on anything. When they arrived back home, the rain had stopped, though some incoming dark clouds indicated that another storm was moving in. They rushed to bring the groceries inside, Zayn, Louis, Niall, and Liam effortlessly carried two or more sacks in each hand, while Harry struggled to carry just two in total. They piled the grocery sacks in the kitchen just as a loud rumble came from outside. Yelping, Liam hastily ran outside to close the boot and the back doors of his car and get back inside before another torrential downpour rained from the skies. They hung up their wet coats and jackets and proceeded to put all the food away, and every so often, Niall would pick up something, some fruit, a packet of crisps, or some candy and he would stare at it intently until someone would remind him to help them put everything away. Now satisfied with a house full of food-- not knowing how long it will actually last, Liam asked. “What would everyone like for lunch?”

They settled for something easy and simple, macaroni and cheese, and some sweetcorn on the side, per Harry's request, Zayn chuckled and ruffled his smallest boyfriend's curls, knowing that corn was one of Harry's other favorite foods. Harry helped the Bradford man strip ears of corn from their husks and wash them free of any of the annoying little hairs that grow inside the husk. Niall and Louis prepared the table for lunch while Liam made the mac and cheese. They ate their delicious lunch in relative silence as the storm raged outside. They cleaned up the mess while Louis conveniently had to use the loo at that point, and he never returned until the dirty dishes were already taken care of. “All right.” Niall clapped his hands together. “Know what time it is, Hazza?” He asked excitedly, looking down at the shorter man. Harry's dimples showed and he smiled widely, nodding vigorously, knowing full well what Niall meant. “Time to get baking!” The blonde cheered as he swooped down and lifted the the curly-haired boy up in his arms. Harry squealed happily at the movement and Niall pulled him in closer for a hug and a kiss and a poke to one of his dimples.

The affection for the small lad didn't end there, Liam came over and pressed his lips onto Harry's. The younger bandmate closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. Louis proceeded to gently plant soft kisses on Harry's neck, causing him to emit a sound of pleasure. They finally pulled away and Zayn took Harry from Niall and wrapped his arms around the small frame against his chest, he nuzzled his face into Harry's curls and smiled. “You're too cute for words, H.” Harry's mouth stretched impossibly wider and he rested his head against the raven-haired man's torso and shut his eyes. “I love you lads.”

“And we love you too, Harry.” Niall affirmed, taking his hand and cupping Harry's pink cheek. Harry simply giggled, he just felt so happy! Zayn put Harry down on the floor and Liam walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out the blender and sat it on the counter. He then sat the stainless steel bowl aside and collected some measuring cups and spoons. Niall went to the fridge and brought over butter and a couple of eggs while Zayn gathered the dry ingredients. Harry attempted to climb onto the counter in order to retrieve the bottle of vanilla extract, but Louis quickly stopped him, remembering what happened earlier. “Whoa, Haz! Why don't I take care of that while you get the chocolate chips from the pantry?” Harry sighed sadly. “Okay.” The short lad walked over to the pantry, slightly slumped over, and grabbed the bag of chocolate chips and brought it to the counter. “Hey, don't look so down, love.” Louis pressed, noticing Harry's expression. “Here.” Louis ripped open the bag of chocolate chips and picked one out of the packet and handed it to Harry, who accepted it with a small smile before eating it. Louis then picked one of the small morsels out to consume himself.

“Oi, don't eat all of the chocolate chips, lads!” Niall reprimanded. The Irish boy then reached into the bag and pulled one out and ate it. “Save some for me!”

“Right, because the biscuits certainly don't need any.” Liam commented sarcastically as he begun to fill the bowl with some of the ingredients so that he could start the blender. He froze when he felt a very faint impact on his right shoulder. It was so soft he barely noticed it. He slowly looked down see a white patch on the sleeve of his long-sleeved t-shirt. He quickly shot up to identify the perpetrator who threw flour at him. While everybody tried acting the same, Louis definitely seemed to be the most guilty. Liam carefully sat the bowl down and Louis was already preparing to flee when he saw the younger man reach into the bag of flour and hurl a handful of the powder at the Doncaster boy. Liam missed his initial target, but it hit Zayn squarely in the face, who slowly wiped flour from his eyelids and glared daggers. “Take cover, Harry!” Niall commanded before ushering their adorably small boyfriend to the other side of the kitchen island as wads of flour began to fly everywhere, some hitting their intended targets, while others struck and splattered against the floor, walls, or furniture in the kitchen. Harry dove to the floor and Niall followed suit. They gasped when they noticed a white patch of flour spread across Harry's chest.

“Oh no!” Harry cried dramatically. He started coughing and gasping mockingly, bringing the back of his hand to his forehead. “They got me, Nialler!” He coughed again. “You'll have to go on without me.” He whimpered. With that he plopped to the floor, his eyes closed. Niall sat there for a moment, speechless. His mouth hung open slightly and he tensed his curled fingers as he stared in disbelief at his fallen boyfriend. “I shall avenge you, Hazzabear!” The furious blonde rose from his hiding spot and rushed for the ammunition and let out a battle cry. “For Harry, and for Nando's!” Louis, Liam and Zayn yelled in surprise as all three of them were now under attack by the vengeful Irishman. They all dove for cover as Niall showed no mercy.

When the flour war ended, Zayn joked about how waving a white flag would be rather pointless, considering most of the kitchen was covered in white, as well as themselves. They finished mixing up the cookie dough with no more distractions and put them in the oven to bake. Then they hurriedly changed out of their flour-ridden clothes and took a quick shower together, washing each other off to make it go by faster so the biscuits didn't burn. They finished cleaning themselves up, scrubbing themselves dry with towels and going into their bedroom to put on fresh clothes. They all ended up putting on t-shirts with sweatpants or pajama bottoms, seeing no need to get dressed again today. Niall and Harry rushed to the kitchen to check on the cookies and Liam took care of their dirty laundry. Zayn and Louis went to the kitchen as well to better assess the damages. The floor, the countertops, the stove, the fridge, the microwave, the sink, the window, walls, cabinets, and drawers all had at least some remnants of flour on them. Zayn got a couple of wet sponges and handed one to Louis before he begun to wipe away the mess. Louis was about slip away while the other three were distracted but was caught by Liam, who had returned from putting their filthy clothes into the washing machine. Zayn, Liam, and a less-than-willing Louis eventually succeeded in cleaning up the kitchen while Niall and Harry removed hot cookies from the baking sheet and sat them on a rack to cool. Niall then got milk from the fridge and poured five glasses for everyone and sat them on the table and Harry moved the cooled off biscuits onto a large plate and carried it over and sat it on the center of the table.

Dirty sponges were tossed into the sink and everyone sat down at the table, silently eating warm chocolate chip cookies and sipping milk, enjoying each others company as the rain poured outside. Harry smiled as he looked at each of his boyfriends. “What are you smiling about?” Louis pried with a grin. Harry shrugged. “I know I've just said this already and all, but I love you lads, more than anything.” He said softly. The four taller, larger men cooed at their adorably small boyfriend. “We love you too, Harry, more than life itself. We would never get tired of hearing it, or saying it.” Zayn stated, mesmerized by the curly-haired lad's emerald green eyes, which were positively radiant.

They finished off their treat and proceeded to do one of their favorite pastimes: cuddle on the couch while a movie played on TV. It would be extra nice as the storm rumbled outside and Liam brought a large duvet over for them all to snuggle underneath. He sat next to Louis to his left, and to his right was Harry in the middle as always, Zayn was seated on the other side between Harry and Niall. Liam tossed the comforter over and they all pulled the blanket up closer to their chins. Thunder boomed outside the flat and they snuggled closer together under the duvet. Harry closed his eyes and relaxed, sighing contently as he sat there, warm and cozy, surrounded protectively by his bandmates, best friends, and undeniably the best boyfriends in the world.

They also ended up throwing away the bag of flour, seeing as there was nothing left in it...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't actually know if the British make chocolate chip biscuits/cookies the same exact way Americans do, so if that's not the case, I hope you didn't cringe too hard while reading about it. :P


	4. No Means No

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go to a bar for the evening, though it's not the first type of place little Harry would choose to hang out at, and he has his reasons why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is on the short side, but then again, it does involve short Harry Styles, so perhaps it's rather befitting?

Even as an international popstar with access to secret, private clubs and high-profile establishments, Harry still has had his share of crappy bars with even crappier drinks. The prominent scent of alcohol was tolerable, but the cigarette smoke was another story. Harry detested smoking. It was a well-known rule in the flat that he and his boyfriends all shared; If Zayn, and occasionally Louis wanted to have a puff, they must go outside, and when they're done, they have to wait until the cloud has dissipated before they come back inside, so that the smoke wouldn't drift into the house when they open the door.

With plenty of time left on their mini holiday, they had to decide how they would spend this evening. Louis proposed that they go out, everyone seemed appealed by the idea until Niall suggested that they go check out a new bar that recently opened, then Harry became less than enthusiastic. He would have protested, but seeing as how his vote was outnumbered, and despite that the boys still would have all conformed to Harry's opinion no matter what, so he ultimately lied and said that an evening at a bar sounded fine. It wasn't that he didn't like going out with friends, especially his bandmates, but he often feels that he hasn't quite found his footing when it comes to bars. It doesn't really help that his height makes him look like he's 15 rather than 19. People occasionally joke about how he looks too young to be holding a full shot glass. Additionally, his small size has a tendency to attract drunk-off-their-arses creeps who try to flirt with him through their drunken slurs. And more often than not, his four boyfriends must come to his aid, reminding Harry about how helpless he can be, and reinforcing his insecurities about his size.

Harry chose to try and keep a low profile, staying seated at their table, using it as a makeshift refuge from all of the bigger, taller people bustling about on the dance floor. He gulped down the last of the amber liquid in his cup, cringing at the bitter taste. _Definitely not the best beer I've ever had._ Harry was far from a heavy drinker, but it had nothing to do with his small size. He did drink socially, whether at some sort of gathering or special event, or if he had some off time, such as now. But he never went beyond that, he never drank while working, whether during the course of however many days they would spend recording, or during shows. He refused to consume alcohol while on the job, and he was never in any hurry to get dead-drunk either.

The curly-haired boy looked around the bar, Liam was seated on one of the barstools, chatting with a close friend of his. Zayn had went off to smoke, and Louis and Niall had found themselves in a drinking competition against each other, and both Harry and Liam had urged them not to overdo it. “You're only drinkin' your way to defeat, mate.” The Doncaster man insisted. “In your dreams, _Lewis._ ” Niall countered with a smirk. Louis had attempted to get Harry to join him and their Irish boyfriend, but Harry declined. Soon enough, The two of them were approaching the table again, this time Harry was asked if he would care to accompany them on the dance floor. Harry debated, it wasn't the most crowded place he'd ever seen, but he still worried about getting himself lost among the larger individuals, or worse yet, having some random bird or bloke take advantage of his smaller size.

“Come on, love, just one?” Louis pleaded. Between Louis' tiny voice and Niall's puppy-dog eyes, the Cheshire lad knew he couldn't win this. Reluctantly, he nodded and the two older men each took one of his smaller hands into their bigger ones. Zayn and Liam both returned to the table just as Harry found himself being half dragged from his seat by his tipsy boyfriends. Harry sighed to himself and accepted his fate. He could only hope that nothing bad would happen. A new song started to play over the speakers right before they arrived in the middle of the crowd. Niall and Louis intertwined their fingers with their free hands while keeping ahold of Harry's and they started to bounce and sway to the beat of the tune. Harry took in his surroundings, glancing at all of the tall people around him, part of him worried that any one of them could decide to jump him at any moment, whether they be some crazy fan or even someone who couldn't care less that they were standing next to Harry Styles and would only be concerned about the fact that he's short and attractive and easy to overpower. Niall took notice of his smallest boyfriend's tense behavior and let go of Louis so he could bend down and plant reassuring kisses all over Harry's face. “Relax, Hazzabear, me and Louis are here, we won't let anything happen to you. I promise.”

Harry was still uncertain, but as he stared into the Irish boy's blue eyes, he finally allowed his guard to drop. Now he was almost feeling a little ridiculous for thinking that his boyfriends would ever let anything unpleasant happen to him while they were present. Niall beamed at the younger singer's change in demeanor and they resumed their dancing, Harry's movements were much less hesitant and forced and he now moved freely, reclaiming a shared grasp with Louis with his other hand, the three of them danced in a triangle formation amongst the crowd of people.

When the song ended and a new one started to play, Harry contemplated on going for another round on the dance floor, but a couple who reeked of cigarette smoke came up next to them. Harry exhaled sharply through his nose and promptly decided to return to the table. Niall and Louis both ended up going to order more drinks instead, leaving Harry to fend for himself as he worked his way through the crowd towards their table. He grimaced a little as the smell of cigarette smoke nearly became suffocating. He coughed a couple of times to more effectively remove the poisonous air from his lungs. As he neared the table, his breath hitched and he immediately froze. His mind fell onto one thing and it honestly made him a little scared.

Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd had anything close to an asthma attack. He'd had some problems when he was just a wee lad, but he got over it as he grew older, and it eventually became a thing of the past, or so he'd thought. He tried to shake the thoughts from his mind as he reached the table. The fact that he was still able to inhale and exhale at the moment seemed to indicate that it was all in his head and that he shouldn't worry. Besides, he could see that his boyfriends were enjoying themselves, he didn't want to be selfish and tell them that he wanted to go home, knowing full well that they would all drop whatever they were in the middle of because they like to do what their littlest boyfriend wants. And Harry certainly appreciates it, but there are occasions where he feels bad and tries to let someone else have a turn.

Harry sat down on the chair at the table and yawned. He noticed the edges of his eyes were crusty, his head and eyelids felt a little heavier, and aside from the noise and loud music, he actually felt like he could lie down somewhere and go to sleep. In fact, going home, getting into some comfy pajamas, and plopping down on the bed surrounded by his four amazing boyfriends sounded _really_ ideal. The curly-haired boy looked over at the bar where Louis and Niall were seated, both of them had glasses in front of them. He had little doubt that the two of them would be completely intoxicated by the end of the night.

His drowsiness didn't go by unnoticed by Liam, who asked. “You feeling tired, baby?” Harry blinked sleepily at the older man and quickly tried to shake away the tiredness. “No, I'm good.” The boy smiled, but neither Liam nor Zayn were fully convinced. “Well, if you're ready to go home, just let us know. Okay, Haz?” Zayn informed. Harry continued to smile and he nodded. “I will.” He fibbed. He then glanced back over towards the bar just in time to see Louis and Niall slam their empty glasses on the counter. “They're at it again.” Harry noted, trying to change the subject. Liam chuckled and shook his head before shouting across the bar towards the Irishman and the Doncaster lad. “Hey, lads, you're both gonna have frightfully pounding headaches in the morning!” Zayn chuckled as well before he stifled a yawn. The raven-haired man rubbed his eyes a little. “I don't know about you two, but I'm actually feeling pretty knackered.” Liam agreed. “Me too. What say you and I gather those two idiots and we all head back to the flat?” Inside, Harry was celebrating. At last, he wasn't the only one who was ready to go home, and Zayn and Liam were already in the process of making that happen. Harry just sat there and relaxed in his seat as the other two got up and headed for the bar. He watched as they spoke to their tipsy boyfriends and pulled them off of their stools. Both of the sober men having to help Niall and Louis maintain their balance as they started walking towards the door. Harry took that as his cue to get up from the table and follow them out.

Another fresh cloud of cigarette smoke found it's way to the short 19-year old, he recoiled and waved a hand in front of his face. Then there it was again, he felt a gap in his breathing and he froze, as if moving even a centimeter would somehow lead to his demise. He stood there for moment until he was sure that his breathing was still under control. Noticing that his other four boyfriends were already at the door, he promptly made his way towards them, but his view of them was soon blocked by a beer belly beneath a dirty white t-shirt. Harry looked up to see a considerably taller man with a dazed look on his face. He both appeared and smelled like he'd had too much to drink. Harry swallowed and waved, flashing a shy smile. “Hi. Pardon me, please.” He said politely, walking to go around the intoxicated man, but a beefy arm went in front of him and obstructed his path. “You're a pretty little thing.” The man slurred. _Oh, God, not now._ Harry kept his smile in check and tried to move the man's huge arm out of the way, but was not successful. “Sorry, sir, but I need to get going, my boyfriends are waiting for me.” Then he felt himself being pulled closer to the man, Harry planted his feet in a futile attempt to stop the man's actions, his shoes sliding along the hardwood flooring. He made a disgusted face as he was pressed against the filthy t-shirt and a second arm wrapped around him. “Whoever they are, they can wait.” Harry quietly growled in annoyance. He locked eyes with the drunk man, as best he could from his current position, his smile now gone and his face set with determination. “No.” He stated firmly. “What?” The man asked curiously, a hint of indigence in his voice, but Harry stood his ground. “I said 'no'.” The curly-haired boy repeated. The large bloke looked down at the shorter man entrapped in his arms, Harry could see the fire in his eyes within the man's drunken state. He couldn't help but gulp nervously. _Why does this always seem to happen to me? Why can't I stand up for myself like the other lads? Why couldn't I be taller?_ The man scowled and tightened his hold on the honestly scared younger man. “You don't tell me 'no', you little brat.” He growled. “You and I are gonna go off somewhere and have a little fun, how's that sound?”

Harry could feel his eyes welling up, he found himself cursing his annoyingly short height. But it's not like he's the shortest person in the world or anything. There are plenty of people out there, much older than him even, who are shorter than he is. Did they all have the same problems he did? Or was he just the unlucky soul out of all of the short people in the world, not even able to defend himself without another big person having to save his bum whenever something bad like this happens. Now on the verge of crying, Harry opened his mouth again, hoping that his voice wouldn't sound too small and shaky. “No.” The man's face was now twisted in anger, he bent down so that he could face his captive. Harry tried to shrink back as much as he could, both from the man's face and the stench of cigarette smoke radiating from it. “You don't get to choose, beautiful. Now, let's go find a nice, empty place to---”

“I believe the lad said “no'.” A familiar voice with an Irish accent spoke sternly from behind the man. Harry was genuinely surprised to see Niall of all people standing there, his hands on his hips, a death glare over his features. Beside him stood the rest of the boys, each one of them sizing up the drunk man. “Who are you supposed to be?” The man demanded, his words slurred. “We're Harry's boyfriends, and if you don't let him go and get the hell out of our sight, you're gonna regret it.” Louis threatened, his voice clear as day, which confused Harry. It sounded as if the feathery-haired man hadn't consumed a drop of alcohol all night. The man stared intently at the four boys, who were noticeably taller than the one still in his arms. Finally, he surrendered and let go of Harry, then he stepped to the side, or more like stumbled, nearly crashing into a chair. “Fine, take your little fag.” He took his big arm and literally shoved Harry towards the other men, who immediately caught the younger singer before he hit the floor. With that, the oafish man waddled away, catching his own feet every so often as he headed for the toilets.

Louis gritted his teeth. Right now he wanted nothing more than to beat some sense into the mofo for what he'd just said and done to their precious little Harry. But when he heard a sniffle, all anger residing inside of him vanished and he and the other three coddled over their adorably small boyfriend. “Are you all right, Harry?” Zayn asked first. “Did he hurt you, honey?” The youngest band member sniffled again and shook his head. “Love,” Louis spoke up next. “I'm sorry, we should have never come here. I know how you feel about bars.” Harry was ready to counter, but Niall cut him off. “I'm sorry too, Hazza. It was my idea to come here in the first place.”

Liam cleared his throat. “Actually, I believe this was my fault. I left Harry alone so that we could--”

“Don't you dare take all of the blame, Li.” Zayn scolded. “I left him alone, too.”

“Lads,” Harry spoke up, grabbing all of their attention. “This wasn't any fault of yours. You couldn't have known that some drunk creep was going to, you know...” He trailed off.

“But we should have.” Louis argued.

“And besides,” Niall added. “I did promise you that we wouldn't let anything happen to you.” The blonde spoke guiltily, like a parent who let down their child. “It's okay, Nialler.” Harry assured, cupping the Irish lad's cheek. “This isn't any of your guys' faults. I'm not blaming any of you for what happened.” By now, the boys knew that they would make no progress if they continued to argue and insist that at least one of them be blamed for what happened, or what could have happened. Apparently, seeing Harry in the particular situation he was in was all that it took to sober up Louis and Niall, which would explain their surprisingly coherent behavior, not the silly, tipsy, I-drank-too-much mindset that Harry had expected them to have after all the alcohol they had consumed tonight.

They sat on a bench outside the bar, finally away from the cigarette smoke that Harry had vaguely gotten used to while inside. The cool air of the night was a welcome break from the hot, stuffy bar. A large, white van pulled up with Paul in the driver's seat. The tired boys climbed in and Paul drove them to their flat. Once there, Harry could only think about crashing into bed as he entered the front hallway and kicked off his shoes, but he felt really dirty after being within close proximity of that drunk man from the bar.

Harry blinked as he felt himself being lifted off the floor, Louis carried him upstairs to the restroom. Niall followed them inside and the blonde started the water in the bathtub. Liam appeared with a large, soft towel and Zayn pulled out a bottle of bubble-bath from under the sink. He popped the cap open and squirted a fair amount of the liquid into the running water. Once that was done, the Bradford man checked the water temperature with his finger and was satisfied with his conclusion. Too tired to argue, Harry allowed his four boyfriends to strip him down before Louis lifted him up again and placed him in the warm, bubbly water. Harry sighed and relaxed as Louis got to work shampooing his curls while Niall took a sponge with some body wash and gently scrubbed his skin clean, the blonde only stopped for a moment to admire the younger lad's tattoos. Zayn took care of Harry's dirty laundry before joining Liam in making their bed. Later on, Niall appeared in the bedroom with a towel-clad Harry in his arms, nice and clean from all the grime he'd accumulated from the bar, and from that creep who was there. Niall sat Harry on their freshly-made bed and Liam handed the boy a pair of sweatpants and a gray jumper. Harry removed the towel and tossed it to the carpet before putting on the garments while the other four changed into pajamas themselves. They all slipped under the covers, with Harry in the middle, Zayn and Niall to his left, and Liam and Louis to his right. Each one of them gave their smallest boyfriend a goodnight kiss before sharing one with each other. Harry sighed contently as he sank into the sheets, an arm or two wrapped around him, a soft hand either caressing his face or messaging his curls.

Emitting a quiet hum of happiness, Harry closed his eyes and sleep soon took over.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all who've read, left kudos, and/or bookmarked. It really does help!
> 
> Dare I say it, feel free to leave a prompt or two. I cannot promise that I can make it happen though.


	5. Harry Takes a Stand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During a day spent at a park (with no stinging nettles), one time Harry's boyfriends defend him, and one time Harry defends his boyfriends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos, bookmarks, and subs. And thanks to everyone who's been brave enough to stick with me so far!
> 
> Possible triggers as there is some homophobia and Islamophobia here, but don't worry, Harry takes care of it!

Warm sunlight bathed over the land. The blue skies, the birds and butterflies flying about, and the small, glistening lake were all a calming sight. With the boys' three-week holiday approaching it's end, they wanted to take advantage of what free time they had left to enjoy themselves fully before they would get back to recording, followed by doing promotions for their next album. Liam was sat on a bench, with Zayn to his left and Louis to his right. He had an arm draped over each of the other mens' shoulders as they both relaxed against his sides. They finally had made it to a park, one with no stinging nettles, and despite the nice weather, the park was practically empty, just how the boys wanted it. Over the chirping birds, the three men could hear distant laughter. They all looked over towards the playground where Niall was pushing Harry on a swingset.

The littlest member squealed excitedly as he went up high, his small hands gripping the rubber-coated rope, Niall laughed again as Harry shouted “Higher!” and the blonde gave another strong push. Liam kept a careful eye on the pair, hoping that he would not have to intervene in case Harry were to go flying. Fortunately, the only thing that was flying at the moment was Harry's beautiful curls as they swayed and waved against the wind. Soon, the two of them had had enough of the swings and they went for the roundabout. Harry climbed on the platform and gripped one of the metal railings and Niall boarded the opposite side of the circular contraption. The Irishman then took his foot against the ground and started propelling forwards, the roundabout spinning faster with each stride. Finally, Niall brought his foot off the ground and onto the carousel. They whooped and laughed as they went around and around.

Eventually they slowed to a stop and they stayed there for a moment to recollect themselves. Then Harry dashed over to the slide. Rather than climb up the access point that went directly to the slide, Harry ran all the way to the other end of the plastic castle, ascending the short step, gradually getting higher up before reaching a rope bridge. The plastic edges on the wooden planks rattled as they batted into each other with each step. Once Harry had crossed the bridge, the rattling intensified and the curly-haired boy looked over see Niall attempting to cross quickly. The bigger, taller lad looked unsure about his situation until he successfully made it to the other side without damaging anything. Harry laughed at the older man's expression. His smile faded when Niall got a new look on his face, and one that Harry had learned to become fearful of. Without a second thought, Harry turned around and dashed away, clamoring over more steps with Niall hot on his heels, his longer fingers dancing in a dangerous manner. Harry's smaller size was an advantage when proceeding through the plastic castle in a hurry, so he was able to reach the slide with Niall a couple of meters behind him still. Harry sat on his bum with his legs over the slide and he propelled himself down. He raised his arms in the air and he yelled happily as he descended. He came to a stop at the bottom and he immediately stood up and ran to the bench where his three other boyfriends were, hoping to find protection from Niall whom he was currently scared of at the moment. Niall had reached the slide and he quickly prepared himself. He didn't go very far, seeing as his legs were already half as long as the slide was. He mimicked Harry's reaction as he went down, which was an amusing sight to say the least. Then he jogged rather than ran to the rest of the group, Harry was on Liam's lap, the youngest member stared intently at the blonde, expecting him to make a move, but Niall chose not to, though he tried to act confused to Harry's skittishness in an attempt to keep the boy on edge.

Louis scooted over to give Niall room to sit. Harry squirmed when Niall sat next to him and Liam. Chuckling, Niall patted Harry's curls. “I'm not gonna tickle you, Hazza... at least not right now.” The Irish lad winked. Harry gulped and nodded silently, which caused the other men to grin in amusement.

Harry's fears subsided and he soon grew bored. He slid off of Liam's lap and headed back to the playground. He mounted a large turtle that was attached to a large spring in the ground and he begun to rock back and forth. Light, metallic clanging from the spring emitted with each motion. Even with his short legs, Harry still had to bend his knees up considerably to keep his feet off the ground. The consistent movement became relaxing and Harry maintained the pace of the rocking turtle.

“Oi! Get off of that! You're going to break it!”

Confused, Harry looked around for the source of the voice, not even sure who it was directed at. His question was answered when a man approached him. He was about as tall as Louis, but significantly older. A worn bowler hat sat atop his presumably bald head, and a Scottish Terrier on a leash was by his side. Wordlessly, Harry quickly dismounted the giant rocking turtle and faced the man with uncertainty.

“What are you thinking, lad?” The man begun. “Those things were built for children, not overgrown juvenile delinquents!” Harry simply stared for a moment, unsure of how to respond to this stranger's reprimanding. “And when one of these breaks because some teenager decides to mess around on them, who has to repair them? Certainly not you!”

“Pardon me, but is there a problem over here?” Harry heard Zayn ask. He glanced over to his left and there stood the Bradford man by his side, the other three gathering around them.

“Is this yours?” The man asked with disgust while pointing down at Harry, who winced at the tone.

“Yes,” Liam explained, providing a reassuring grip on his smallest bandmate's shoulder. “Harry is our boyfri--”

“Then keep your ruffian better contained.” The man grumbled loudly. “I don't need anymore hooligans running around destroying things that aren't theirs.”

“But, sir, I'm 19.” Harry finally protested.

“You're 19?” The man gawked at the young singer. “With such childish behavior I could've sworn that you were half that age.”

“Now hold one just a moment.” Louis interjected. “I'm quite positive that Harry wasn't harming anything, nor did he ever intend to. So what if he wants to have little fun? He wasn't hurting anybody.”

“We only live once.” Niall added. “Lighten up, mate.” The man sighed exasperatedly and shook his head. “Fine.” He said. “If your boy breaks anything, you're paying for it.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked away, his dog trotting alongside him. Once the man was out of earshot, Louis grimaced. “Yeesh, who stuck a stick up that guy's arse?”

“Louis,” Harry spoke. “Let's just drop this, yeah?”

“Are you all right though, babe?” Liam inquired, looking down at their adorably small boyfriend. Harry shrugged before nodding. “Yeah.” He answered.

“Are you really?” Zayn pressed. Soon enough, Harry found himself in his thoughts. Was he really that childlike? He is 19 years old, a grown man. Granted, not a very tall man, but his appearance didn't define his age. He knew how to cook, how to do his own laundry, he knew how to pay bills, how to handle himself at social gatherings. He was graduated with an education, he had a job. He knew how to drive, though he often preferred to let other people take the wheel, as his short height could sometimes make driving a little awkward, but not impossible. Sure, he still liked to be tucked into bed, he liked to snuggle with his boyfriends when they watched scary movies, or any movies for that matter. He liked to be carried when he was tired or overwhelmed, he liked being protected by his bandmates... Okay, perhaps he was a little childlike, but it's not like he wears nappies or sucks on dummies or anything like that. He was still a very capable adult, but if that guy thought he was some immature teenager, Harry couldn't help but wonder what the fans really thought of him. Did they also think he was just a big baby? Did they secretly not like him because he comes off as less of a man than the rest of the lads? That certainly didn't seem to be the case, yet doubts were now engraved into his mind. It's not like he can help it, well, maybe only to a certain degree. He can't change his height, as much as he'd love to be taller like the other four boys, he's stuck where he is. Perhaps his behavior is a bit more youthful than necessary, especially since he doesn't even look like a 19-year old. Outside observers like that man with the dog may get the wrong impressions.

Harry's four boyfriends could detect the gears turning inside his head, they continued to wait for the youngest to speak. “Lads?” As expected, all of their attention was fully on him. “Am I a baby?” Zayn gave a small, closed-lip smile and bent down to face the curly-haired boy. “Well, Harry, you are _our_ baby, and we love you no matter what. But if you're wondering what we think you are, stop right now, honey.” Louis then placed a comforting hand on Harry's right shoulder while cupping the lad's face with his other hand, ensuring that eye contact wouldn't falter. “We'll be going through this conversation however many times it takes, love. You need not let other people get to your head. That guy was just some grumpy old bloke who probably felt like taking his shit out on somebody else.”

“As a matter of fact, Hazzabear, you're a lot more manly than I am.” Niall stated with a smile. “Look at all those lovely tattoos of yours! Me? I'm too much of a wimp to even get a small one.” Harry failed to keep the edges of his lips from turning upwards, nor was he able to hold back a chuckle at the Irishman's words, which washed the four other boys with satisfaction.

“You're not really a baby, Harry.” Liam affirmed. “You're just as much of a man as the rest of us. So what if you like to play on toys? Big deal. And if anyone gets their knickers in a twist over it, that's their problem, not yours.“

Harry sighed. Once again, his boyfriends were correct. Time and time again, his insecurities get the better of him, he starts to doubt everything, and he sometimes wonders if it would be better if he were just a normal person. Even while he's drowning in uncertainty, his bandmates are there to reassure him, restrengthen his confidence, remind him of his worth. They let him know that he is loved by them, their families, friends, and all of their wonderful fans. And finally, Harry would wonder why he was ever worried in the first place. It's just a nasty habit of his. A stray individual says something negative about him, and that's all that he is able to think about, and it wears him down, he questions everything, sometimes forgetting about all of the massive support that eventually comes his way from his four amazing boyfriends, from his mum and sister, and from all of the “Directioners” who fiercely defend them from naysayers on social media.

And once that negative cloud has passed, Harry remembers just how lucky he is. Not because of the fame and wealth, but because of the loving relationship he shares with his bandmates. No matter who or what drags him down, no matter how low he feels, Louis, Liam, Zayn, and Niall lift him back up. Harry even finds himself smiling at random times by simply thinking about his boyfriends and the love they all have for one another.

Harry's insecurities don't always end there. As much as he appreciates his boyfriends coming to the rescue, he is reminded of how lacking he is when it comes to defending himself, and it makes him feel useless. When the media hyped up about that video of Zayn smoking, who stood up for him? While Zayn did have a lot of support behind him, he was the one who ultimately led the charge, he held his own throughout the situation. When the tabloids started questioning Louis' singing capabilities, It was Louis who stood his ground. Again, he did have plenty of support, but Louis was still up there on the front lines.

When Harry accumulated all of that hate on Twitter, who defended him? The boys, and his family. When Harry underwent that one interview where he was constantly asked uncomfortable questions about relationships, the fans defended him. It feels like everyone else, support or not, was still able to take a stand when faced with a given situation, but the Cheshire lad also feels that every time he encountered something of that nature, he was hiding behind somebody else, his bandmates, the fans, whoever. It irritated him just slightly that he can't ever seem to defend himself, whether it be against verbal attacks, or drunk people at bars. His annoyingly short height did him no favours under certain circumstances, and he would find himself swimming in a whole new river of insecurities.

One of which the boys would pull him out of, sooner or later. They have a pretty good track record at doing that.

Still, it would be nice to not always rely on others for protection. Harry would like to be able to successfully stand up for himself for once, or if not himself, then somebody else. The boys would insist that it's not necessary, that he doesn't have to do anything to prove himself to anyone, and Harry would eventually agree, with some reluctance.

Harry was sat on the bench, watching the birds play in the small lake. Louis and Zayn were to his right, with Liam to his left. Niall had ran off somewhere, he'd mentioned in a little too much detail about his need to use the loo. The blonde man soon returned, he gently gripped five paper cones in his hand, each one filled way over the top with candy floss. When he reached the bench, he offered one to each of his boyfriends, keeping one for himself before sitting down next to Liam.

“Oh, geez. I hope you didn't get these from the toilets.” Liam grimaced with a smirk before taking a bite of the pink sugary treat.

“Hey!” Niall laughed. “These were being sold just across the street.” He explained.

“Thank you, Nialler.” Harry said. He took a big bit out of his treat, his mouth full of candy floss shrinking into nothing more than a small pile of sugar in a matter of seconds.

“You are welcome, Hazza.” The Irish lad reached around Liam and patted the younger singer's soft curls. When they finished, Liam got up from the bench, needing to stretch his legs a little. He disposed of the paper cones, but when he came back, he pouted when he saw that Niall had stolen his spot next to Harry. Niall simply smiled innocently and Liam took Niall's former spot on the bench while trying to conceal his own grin.

Jealously soon forgotten, Liam leaned partially against Niall, with an arm snaked around the blonde and his hand resting on Harry's shoulder. Zayn wrapped his left arm around Harry's other shoulder, slightly pulling the younger man to his side. Louis rested against Zayn's other side, wrapping both arms around the Bradford man while Zayn leaned over Harry to connect his lips with Niall's. Liam took his left arm and reached around Niall to caress Harry's dimpled face while Zayn used his free hand to cup Niall's cheek as their kiss progressed. Louis started to kiss into Zayn's dark hair while Liam began planting pecks on the back of Niall's neck. Feeling left out of the kissing-fest, Harry tried to sit up more, he crowded his way between Zayn and Niall before connecting his lips with Zayn's, earning a whine from the Irishman who then proceeded to give Harry the same treatment that Liam was giving to him. Harry hummed with pleasure as he closed his eyes, soaking in the love radiating around him.

“Perhaps we should go home before this out of hand?” Louis suggested, his face still buried in the back of Zayn's head.

“Sounds like a good idea.” Liam mumbled with his lips still against Niall's skin. They all finally pulled away, but continued to stare at one another, sweet smiles and sparkling eyes. “Lads?” Harry spoke softly. The four older men all looked down at their adorably small boyfriend. “Yes, Harry?” They all asked in unison, smiles plastered on their features. Beaming, Harry looked up to meet each of their faces. “I love you all.” Their mouths widened into grins and they all bent down so that they could nuzzle their faces against the curly-haired lad's. “We love you too, Harry.” Zayn breathed audibly into the boy's ear. “More than anything.” Liam added, taking the opportunity to steal a kiss.

“You people disgust me.” An unfamiliar voice spat, breaking the pleasant silence. Everyone shot up to face the newcomer. It was a woman somewhere in her 50's or 60's, long dark hair with hints of gray at the roots, it had clearly been dyed and it looked like it hadn't been washed in a while. She was considerably overweight, and she had a nasty scowl on her face. She was definitely taller than little Harry, but still shorter than the other boys. “I can't believe sub-humans like you are even allowed to exist.” She sneered. With a calm demeanor, Liam stood up from the bench. “Ma'am, if what you see bothers you, you may simply look away.”

“I shouldn't have to!” She shouted angrily. Harry winced at the sudden level of volume and he felt Zayn and Niall shift closer to him in response. “Why should I have watch where I look because people like you think you can do whatever you want because you don't fear the Lord's judgment?!”

 _Oh, lovely._ Louis thought. _Not one of these characters._

The rude woman sighed exasperatedly. “I just don't understand why filth such are yourselves are even allowed to live on this Earth. There's a special place in Hell for you all, and I'll thank God for the day that your kind is eradicated.”

“Miss,” Zayn spoke up. “I'm not so sure that you yourself are doing--”

“And you,” She growled, jabbing a finger towards the raven-haired man. “What are you even doing in this country? Shouldn't you be off in the Middle East somewhere planning terrorist attacks?”

Everyone looked taken aback at this point. “Um, I'm sorry, _what?_ ” Zayn asked, completely flabbergasted.

“You know what, woman?” Louis snapped as he stood up, he was reaching his boiling point. “You don't even know any of us. Why don't you look in the mirror for once?”

“I will not be intimidated by low-life sinners like you.” She snapped back. “I am protected, you cannot faze me.”

“Ma'am, do you honestly think that God or whoever it is that you follow is cheering you on right now as you yell at a bunch of strangers?” Niall inquired incredulously.

“I'm not even going to bother explaining myself to a bunch of heathens, you wouldn't understand anyway, and I'd just be wasting my time.” She spat bitterly, still glaring daggers at the five men.

Harry sat there as the spectacle unfolded. He was shocked, scared, and a little angry. Shocked because it was sometimes hard to fathom that there are still many people out there who refuse to accept others for who they are, people who still can't learn to set aside their differences and just get along with everyone. He felt scared, if this is what this random woman is capable of with her mouth alone, he couldn't imagine what else she could do given the opportunity. And lastly, he felt angry. He and his boyfriends have done nothing wrong, and this person thinks they can just waltz up to them and scream nothing but negativity at them, with nothing to back up their argument other than their twisted perspective on their supposed beliefs? As the obnoxious tirade continued, with the other four boys trying their best to hold the attacker off, Harry had finally had enough. Watching his bandmates try to futilely reason with this confused woman who has done nothing but verbally assault them was bringing him to the end of his rope. He had to try and do something, he can't just keep shielding himself behind others. Pushing the potential risks to the back of his mind, he removed himself from Zayn and Niall. He took a deep breath and stood from the bench and begun to approach the mad banshee.

“Excuse me, ma'am.” The curly-haired boy calmly spoke up.

“And what do you want?” The woman sneered with disgust. Harry kept himself in check and stood his ground.

“You're very rude, and I don't like what you are saying to my boyfriends. I would really appreciate it if you stopped yelling and apologize to them, especially Zayn, because that was very uncalled for.”

The woman sputtered and scoffed, almost laughing. “I only heed to one person, and it certainly is not _you._ You non-believers are all the same.”

"I'm sorry that you feel that way." Harry kept his emerald eyes locked with the woman's dark ones. He gritted his teeth, but it remained concealed behind his clenched lips. He took a deep breath to ease some of the growing tension within himself. “Also,” He took his fingers and reached beneath the collar of his shirt, slowly pulling at the thin chain until he revealed a silver cross, the pendant gleamed in the sunlight as he let it go to rest over the chest of his shirt. “I wouldn't be so quick to call me a 'non-believer' if I were you, and I definitely believe that you are representing your faith very poorly.”

The woman huffed and acted like she was growing bored. “You wear a cross necklace, big freaking deal.” She said in a disrespectful and infuriated tone that almost made Louis want to rip his ears off. “That doesn't mean anything!”

“And yours does?” Harry raised an eyebrow while gesturing to the woman's own crucifix pendant. The mean lady opened her mouth to respond, but she said nothing. She quickly snapped her mouth shut and glanced around, as if she was struggling to come up with a response. When she had seemingly been defeated, she glared at all of the boys. “You can all go to Hell for all I care! I don't give a Goddamn!” She screeched, the skin on her face turning red. Harry ignored the remark and kept a straight expression, simply folding his arms. “'Love thy neighbour', madam, it's not as hard as you think it is.” He said, his voice still calm. With menacing features, the woman snapped her indigent gaze back towards the short 19-year old.

“Oh, f-- Sh-shut up!” She shouted, and with that she stormed off. Harry allowed a bit pride to wash over him as he came to the conclusion that he had emerged victorious from the skirmish he'd just endured, especially since that was apparently the best shot the woman had at this point. Everyone else stood there for a moment in an awkward silence, their jaws hung open as they watched the woman disappear around a corner. When they all had come to their senses, Louis, Zayn, and Niall shot up from the bench and rushed over to Harry, who Liam was already facing.

“Harry, are you--”

“Okay? Yes, I am. Thank you for asking.” The younger man answered honestly with a smile.

“How are you feeling?” Zayn asked. Harry shrugged. “Fine. But I should be asking how you lads are all doing.” Truth be told, none of them had a readily available answer to give. Usually after situations like this, the typical routine is to coddle over their smallest boyfriend, making sure that he is all right. But for him to be checking over them was almost foreign. It was just so out of the ordinary, they quite literally didn't know how to handle it. It was almost funny.

Finally, Louis came close, kneeling next to Liam so that his face was more level with Harry's. “Haz, that was... impressive. Standing up to that bit--” He cut himself off when he noticed Harry's expression. “...bird. I'm-- We're very proud of you, love.” He pulled Harry in for a hug. The boy smiled a little and shrugged again. “I had to do something. I couldn't just sit there and let that lady say all that stuff to you guys.” Zayn then crouched next to Louis. “That really was something else, H. You handled it exceptionally well, probably way better than Louis could have.” He added with a chuckle. Rather than argue or pout playfully, Louis shared the Bradford lad's amusement. "But more importantly, Harry, thank you." He leaned forward and planted a passionate kiss on his youngest boyfriend's cheek. Harry turned his head so that he could return a kiss of his own on Zayn's lips.

“Lads,” Niall clapped his hands together as he spoke up. “In honour of our little Hazza's show of courage today, I think we need to celebrate!”

Liam rolled his eyes as he stood up. “Let me guess, dinner at Nando's?”

“Actually, now that you mention it, that sounds pretty good... Wait, no! I've got somewhere else in mind, but it's a surprise!”

“Can we at least get a hint?” Louis asked warily as he released Harry and stood up as well.

The Irish boy grinned. “Nope!” He then took Harry's left hand, who then grabbed Louis'. Niall snatched Liam's hand with his other and Zayn quickly intertwined his finger's with Louis's right hand. With all of them connected, Niall lead on and brought the group towards the pavement. “Come along, men! Food awaits!”

“Better be someplace good.” Zayn said, Liam and Louis expressed their agreements.

“Trust me!” Niall beamed. “I know Harry will like it!”

* * *

“Taco Bell? Really, Niall?” Louis asked disbelievingly, speaking over the noise of the bustling kitchen, chatting patrons, and humming soda machines.

“What?” The Irishman seemed confused.

“I love tacos.” Harry simply stated with a grin. He slid his shoes along the slippery surface of the freshly mopped tile floor and swung his hands back and forth eagerly, which were still connected with Liam's and Niall's.

“Ooh, we should share a Nacho BellGrande! I heard they're pretty good.” Niall said, letting go of Louis' hand to point at the menu.

“Niall,” Liam spoke nonchalantly, turning his head towards his bandmate. “You've been watching _The Adventurous Adventures of One Direction_ again, haven't you?”

The blonde boy didn't answer, instead his smile fell and his cheeks turned red as he faced anywhere else except at his boyfriends, who all laughed until it was their turn to order.

“I'll take that as a 'yes'.” Zayn smirked as they stepped up to the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "i'm christened but not really that religious...is that ok?" -Harry Styles, 2010
> 
> In case you don't actually know what "The Adventurous Adventures of One Direction" is, search it on YouTube and watch it!


	6. Breath Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry awakens early in the day and decides to go for a morning run. However, his 'thing-of-the-past' asthma has other plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really saddened to learn of the passing of Robin Twist last week. Rest in peace, good sir.

Harry awoke to quiet. It was a very pleasant sort of peacefulness. The only other sounds that could be heard were the soft, rhythmic breathing of his four amazing boyfriends around him. To his right was Zayn with Louis on the other side, whose back was against Zayn's and he was curled up into a ball. To Harry's left was Niall, snuggled with his back against Liam's chest, who had an arm draped over the slumbering blonde.

Harry stifled a yawn and stretched before sitting upright. He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was only 7:01 AM. A light throb around his bladder indicated that he needed to get to a toilet soon. The curly-haired boy slowly removed himself from the warm, cozy sheets, being careful not to disturb his still sleeping bandmates, Once he was out from under the covers, he cautiously stepped towards the foot-end of the large bed. He froze once when his foot came in contact with a distinctive lump under the duvet. Niall emitted a slight peep but remained asleep. Liam's arm instinctively pulled the Irish lad closer. Harry stopped to admire the cute moment before resuming his mission to reach the loo. Once he reached the foot-end, he climbed down the edge and tiptoed towards the door. Zayn stirred and Harry froze again. The Bradford man seemed to notice the vacant spot on their bed. Louis sleepily turned around and put Zayn and himself in a similar position like to other two on other opposite side of the bed. Louis snaked an arm over Zayn and wrapped the younger man in a protective embrace, which seemed to calm him down. Harry's smile grew wider as he watched his four boyfriends sleep.

Remembering the task on-hand, Harry exited the bedroom and went to the bathroom. Once he finished his business, he washed his hands and dried them off before returning to the bedroom where the other lads are all still asleep. Harry got a bright idea to make breakfast for all of them, but seeing how early it still was, he would have to wait for a while before he started cooking, or else the food would be cold by the time they all got up. Of course, knowing how Niall works, all Harry would have to do is yell “food!” and the blonde man would be on his feet in seconds. Though he might have to yell a little louder in order for it to work on the other three.

Harry looked out the window, the sky was a vibrant shade of orange from the sunrise. The streets were empty and still mostly shaded. Only the very top of the distant trees had any sunlight shining upon them. Rather than climb back into bed, as tempting as it sounded, Harry decided that he would take the opportunity to go for a morning run. He gathered a pair of sweatpants, an orange jumper, a pair of socks, shoes, and his phone and keys. He carried his stuff to the bathroom where he would take a quick shower, which was only delayed a little because whoever had last taken a shower forgot to put the bottle of shampoo down on a rack where little Harry could reach it.

He cursed under his breath and placed a foot on the edge of the shower and hoisted himself up high enough to where he could grab the bottle. Once the bottle was in his hand, his foot slipped from the edge and he landed ungracefully on the shower floor. Under the spray of warm water, Harry examined himself. He was relieved that nothing was sprained or broken. And to think that it all would've been because he wasn't tall enough to reach up as high as everyone else. _Why did I have to be so damn short?_ Shaking the negativity from his head, he finished his shower and stepped out, grabbing a towel and wiping himself dry. He sighed and got dressed. He pulled on his socks before slipping on his sweatpants. He put on his jumper and zipped it up, then he put his phone and keys in his pockets and put on his shoes. Once he was ready, he went downstairs and stopped by the kitchen to leave a note for his bandmates in case they got up and wondered where their littlest boyfriend had gone off to. He went back upstairs and slipped the note under edge of the closed door to their bedroom before going back downstairs and exiting the flat.

The air was cool and crisp. Harry shivered a little, his curls were still a little damp, but he knew that once he started moving he would build up some body heat and the temperature would become more tolerable. He pulled up the hood of his jumper to help dry off his hair faster before he started down the street in a jog, gradually increasing his speed with each stride, the bottoms of his sneakers lightly scuffing the pavement. It was very tranquil, there was nobody else around, not that Harry was complaining. It meant there was an even smaller chance that someone would see and recognize him and he would wind up getting mobbed by screaming girls with a stray boy or two amongst the crowd, completely ruining his morning run.

He certainly wasn't against meeting fans. In fact, it was one of his favourite parts about this job. What he disliked was the reporters and journalists following him wherever he went, watching his every move with their uncomfortable inquiries and obnoxious cameras.

As Harry ran, he started to notice that each breath he took was becoming more and more laboured. His mind fell back to that night at the bar where he came close to having a couple of asthmatic spells due to the cigarette smoke. He slowed as he neared an empty bench and carefully sat down while he tried to catch his breath. He held a hand over his chest as he tried taking long, slow breaths, knowing that any rapid breathing, especially that of which can be caused by anxiety, would be very bad in his current state. But that lead to a number of questions: Why was he showing signs of asthma after all these years? Was it even asthma and not just something else? But what else could it possibly be? And if it was asthma, what would happen to his singing career? Would his ability to perform be affected? Would he have to leave the band? And what would Liam, Louis, Niall, and Zayn do without the fifth band member? Would the four of them be able to keep One Direction afloat without Harry? But if they couldn't, what else would they do?

With so many concerns swirling around in his head, he soon noticed his chest getting tighter. Each time he inhaled, less and less air entered his lungs which had begun to ache. _Shit._ Harry realized too late that he'd managed to drive himself into a panic attack. He gasped weakly in his struggle to breathe. He barreled over, falling off the bench and tumbling to the pavement. Harry looked around, hoping that there would be someone nearby who could help, but he was alone. At this point, he'd be more than willing to have a nosy reporter by his side. His limbs twitched slightly and it became harder to even move, he could also feel his eyelids wanting to close. The curly-haired boy shook his head stubbornly and tried to keep his eyes open for whatever it was worth. _No, no, no. I can't go like this, not without telling the boys and my family goodbye..._

He couldn't die, at least not this way. Not sprawled out on the ground where some poor sap, or worse yet, one of the boys finds his dead body and they wind up with horrible, unforgettable images in their head. He could already imagine one of his bandmates discovering their littlest boyfriend on the concrete, long gone, and they would cry and desperately attempt to wake him up with no avail. It pained Harry to think of the heartache his boyfriends would deal with over such a loss. He wished he could something, anything, but his body has already taken a huge toll and was beginning to give up. He emitted another gasp as he tried futilely to breathe. He couldn't even call out to anybody who could potentially be nearby, not without being able to take in any air. He did have his cell phone though, but he was too weak to reach into his pocket and retrieve it, much less use it to contact help.

The fading young man choked out a silent sob, he shut his eyes and let his head drop to the ground. The sounds of birds chirping as a light breeze blew was all that could be heard as he came to accept his fate. He would have at least liked to have given a proper farewell to his loved ones, but that simply was not going to happen. He was going to die here on the pavement all because of a fit of stupid asthma, and it increased his own sense of self-loathing. He was always the small weakling in school, he was an easy target because of his short height and skinny frame. And even as he rose to become an international popstar, not much had changed as far as his physical capabilities were concerned. He couldn't defend himself, somebody else always had to step in. And right now, he definitely needed somebody to rescue him, but there was nobody else around, and by the time somebody does find him, it will be too late.

Tears rolled down Harry's slightly blue features as he continued to cry silently. He couldn't breath, he couldn't move, he couldn't utter a sound, all he had control over at this point were his thoughts, and as the darkness increased, he knew that there wasn't much time left as he made a mental note, hoping that it would somehow reach it's recipients, as foolish as it seemed.

_I'm so sorry for leaving you Niall, Liam, Zayn, Louis, I love you all so much. Please, take care of my mum and dad and Gemma for me._

The last shred of light from the blue sky behind his eyelids was gone, and black was all that could be seen after that.

* * *

Harry opened his eyes just slightly and squeezed them shut again. Once he was ready, he slowly reopened them and was washed by a lot of white. Once he had begun to adjust, he vaguely took in his surroundings. He noticed that he was able to breathe again, he was on a bed, and there was still a lot of brightness as his vision was still in the process of readapting. Where was he though? A hospital sounded like the most logical answer, his sweatpants and orange jumper were gone and had been replaced with some sort of gown, but when he remembered what had happened to him during his morning run, that just didn't seem possible given the circumstances. He had most likely died and went to Heaven. Although he should be relishing in happiness for having made it past the pearly gates, instead it filled the boy with sadness, because that meant that he'd left his boyfriends behind on Earth to grieve and trudge on through life without their little Harry, and he would be without them for however long it would take for them to join him. His emotions became overwhelming, his bottom lip trembled and his vision was obstructed again, this time by tears. He brought his hands up from under the light blue blanket that was draped over him and buried his face into them, sobbing.

“Hey, hey, none of that, love, you're all right now.” A familiar voice soothed and an arm wrapped around his small frame and gently pulled him closer to the speaker, his head pressed against a chest with a beating heart.

He was unsure if his mind was playing tricks on him or not, if that could even happen to a person in Heaven, but he slowly removed his face from his hands and by now he could actually see where he was clearly. The bed he was on had silver metal railings on each side, there were wires and tubes running from his body to various machines, and off in one corner of the room rested a bundle of yellow on a chair, Harry could distinctively make out Zayn's face that was partially hidden from the hood of his jumper, the Bradford man's eyes were closed and he sat relatively still, indicating that he was asleep. It eventually dawned on the young singer that he was still amongst the living and he whipped his head up towards the direction of the calming voice so fast that his neck popped and he winced a little as a result of the sudden action.

“Easy there, Hazza,” Louis chuckled, his blue eyes practically sparkling, Harry could feel his oldest boyfriend's chest vibrate as the man laughed. “You ought to keep resting.”

“Louis?” Harry asked in a small voice as he grabbed a fistful of Louis' red jumper.

“Yes, Harry?” The Doncaster lad responded, his voice was so soft and comforting, it made Harry wonder yet again if he was actually in Heaven and not on Earth.

“Um, what-- what happened?” The curly-haired boy asked curiously, his wide green eyes staring into Louis' piercing blue ones.

It initially felt like a dumb question, Harry certainly knew what landed him in the hospital in the first place, but what he wanted to know was how? How was he not dead? Louis smiled at his youngest boyfriend and gently stroked his messy curls.

“Liam found your note by the door, then he kicked the rest of us out of bed and made us go running. We thought we would catch up with you and surprise you.” Louis explained, smirking as he mentioned the bits involving Liam. Harry felt a smile creep on his own face while he listened. Louis' facial expression gradually morphed into one that exclaimed seriousness. “But then we found you, you are on the ground, you weren't breathing. Zayn dialed 999 and Liam tried giving you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while we waited because we didn't have an inhaler or a nebulizer for you.”

Harry continued to sit there, partially on the bed and partially against Louis as he listened intently to all the details. Louis told Harry about how frightened they all were that they nearly lost their littlest boyfriend, how there was a brief argument on who would ride in the ambulance with Harry to the hospital, how relieved they all were when they were eventually told that Harry would be OK, and that it was a good thing that they had stumbled upon him when they had. While they had waited though, Zayn nearly bore a trail into the floor from pacing so much, the poor lad had exhausted himself, which is the reason why he was currently napping. Harry glanced around the room, noting how Niall and Liam were both absent.

“Li's using the toilet.” Louis gestured with his head towards the bathroom door, which was closed, off to the left of the room. “And Niall, well, you know how Nialler is, he went to the cafeteria to get some food.” Harry chuckled softly, imaging a comical scenario where annoyed patrons are complaining about there being no food left in the cafeteria, and Niall casually strolling by while carrying a mountain of edibles on a tray.

Louis brightened up at Harry's improved mood, the younger boy's tears had subsided and was reduced to an occasional sniffle. Harry's smile grew and he leaned further into Louis' chest, feeling very thankful that he got another chance to be with his loving boyfriends. Louis wrapped his other arm around the curly-haired boy and smiled. Then he asked: “What were you so sad about, Haz?”

Harry blushed, he was a little uncertain of how exactly he should word his answer. “Um... I thought I died and, you know, went to Heaven.” His cheeks warmed and the color became more noticeable.

“And that... made you upset?” Louis asked curiously.

“Well, kind of, because I thought I had left you all behind, and I wasn't ready for that.” Harry explained. Louis breathed out a chuckle before planting gentle kisses on Harry's face. “Lucky for you, love, you can't get away from us that easily.” The Doncaster man smirked, hoping to lighten the mood some more. Harry nodded silently, smiling a little.

The door to the bathroom opened, revealing a frazzled-looking Liam wearing a purple jumper, who immediately gasped when he saw that his youngest boyfriend was awake. “Harry!” Liam exclaimed, he rushed over and reached for the younger lad, whose arms were already outstretched. Liam gingerly accepted the short 19-year old from Louis, who removed himself from the chair by the bed so that Liam could sit, seeing as Harry couldn't go too far from the bed with the tubes and wires still attached to him.

“Hi, Lili.” Harry greeted, slowly pressing his lips against the older man's. Liam soon broke the kiss apart so that he could speak. “I'm so glad you're okay, babe. We were all so worried.” He said as he brought one hand up behind Harry's curls, caressing them.

“I'm sorry I made you lads worried.” Harry said guiltily. Liam just chuckled and shook his head. Typical Harry, apologizing for something that wasn't even his fault.

“It's all right, Hazza, because _you're_ all right.” Liam affirmed, exchanging another kiss with the lads' adorably small boyfriend.

“Hmm?” Zayn stirred from the chair he was still sleeping on. He shook his head a little and slowly sat up. He grimaced at his slightly sore joints and had started to regret his sleeping arrangements. He blinked tiredly and looked over towards the bed where he spotted Harry, awake and most importantly, alive, sitting on Liam's lap. With a groan he got to his feet and stretched. He grunted with satisfaction when he felt a couple of pops in his back. Exhaling, he then brought his arms down and shoved the hood of his jumper off of his head before walking over to the bed.

“My turn.” Zayn grumbled, holding out his arms towards Harry, who looked amused at Liam's more annoyed expression. Wordlessly, Liam carefully handed their youngest bandmate to Zayn, who effortlessly supported the little one with one hand under his bum and another arm wrapped around the lad's body. The Bradford man then replaced Liam on the chair by the bed, who then took Zayn's previous seat.

“How are you feeling, honey?” Zayn asked softly.

“Much better, thank you.” Harry replied, he felt a little uneasy as the events that had transpired earlier today was still at the front of his mind. It was as if Zayn could detect the fear radiating off from his smallest boyfriend, he began to rub circles on Harry's back while rocking gently. “Don't fret, love, everything's okay.” His voice alone was sufficient enough to calm Harry's nerves. The Cheshire boy could feel his eyelids getting heavy from both the rocking motion and the unnamed tune Zayn hummed. However, his drooping head and relaxing body was startled by the door to his room bursting open and a thick Irish accent ringing out loudly.

“Hazzabear! You're alive!” Niall shouted happily as he jogged into the room, his shoes stomping against the solid floor. Harry grinned and he reached out for the beaming ball of sunshine sometimes known as: “Nini!”

“Careful with him.” Zayn instructed, eyeing the blonde warily before surrendering Harry to Niall, who pouted a little. “Where's the trust these days?” Zayn rolled his eyes and got up from the chair. However, instead of sitting down, Niall pulled down one of the railings on the bed and lied down on it with Harry over his bosom. Harry snuggled into the Irishman's soft blue jumper, sighing contently before allowing his eyelids to droop again. Niall smiled and wrapped both arms around the smaller lad, planting a quick peck on Harry's forehead before resting his head on the pillow.

A man donning scrubs and a white coat stopped at the open door and knocked a couple of times before entering. He had short, dark hair and was of average size. He smiled a little upon seeing his patient bonding with one of their friends. “Hello, Mr. Styles, I see you're awake.” He addressed. Harry tiredly raised his head to acknowledge the new presence. “M' still tired.” Harry mumbled before resting his head back down on Niall's chest. The doctor nodded and smiled. “I'll make this short and quick so that you can get some more rest.” He cleared his throat before proceeding. “Seems you gave your friends quite a scare this morning. But fortunately they found you in time, and the mouth-to-mouth that one of your friends gave you was enough to stabilize you until the paramedics arrived. All in all, you are recovering well, we'd just like for you to stay at the hospital overnight so that we can keep an eye on you, then you may head home in the morning.”

Harry nodded at the information he was fed, it was comforting to know that he would be okay and that he would not have to stay here for very long. “I just have a couple of questions I would like to ask you.” The doctor spoke, pulling out a pen and a small notepad out of his pocket.

“Okay.” Harry said, indicating that the man should continue.

“Do you have any history of asthma?”

“I had it when I was just a wee lad, but it went away.”

“Childhood asthma.” The doctor mumbled as he scribbled some words on the paper. He then looked up from the notepad. “Have you experienced any more recent signs of asthma, or just any sort of difficulty in breathing?”

Harry swallowed. He'd never told the other lads about that night at the bar where he had a couple of moments where he felt like he couldn't breathe, but he tried to convince himself that it wasn't a big deal, it was probably just all the stinky cigarette smoke and nothing more. But that didn't quite explain this morning, considering that there wasn't any cigarette smoke within a kilometer of him, nothing else but nature's fresh morning air.

The other four boys had taken notice of Harry's hesitance to answer, and soon they were all staring at him expectantly. Finally, Liam spoke up. “Harry?” When the curly-haired boy refused to make eye contact with him and instead chose to stare down at the bed, Liam sighed. “Just answer him, babe. Yes, or no?” Harry bit his lower lip before taking a deep breath, knowing full well that he couldn't get out of this situation without saying something.

“I... Uh, yes?” Harry's voice squeaked at the end. He unnoticeably flinched when the doctor started scribbling some more stuff on the notepad.

“And when was the last time you remember having any issues, besides this morning?”

Harry sighed as he continued to gaze at the bed rather than at any of his boyfriends. “About two weeks ago, me and the other lads were at a bar. I thought it was only because there was a lot of cigarette smoke there.”

“Harry, love,” Louis interjected. “Why didn't you tell us?” The oldest band member was just as surprised as the other three upon hearing this from their youngest, especially considering that it was the first time. Harry shifted around uncomfortably under all of their gazes. He knew that he should have said something, but at that time, he didn't think it was a big deal, plus the other lads were all having a good time and he didn't want to disrupt any of them. He knew it was a pretty weak excuse, but he didn't really have any other explanation, so he expressed his reasons, which brought him four shaking heads.

“H, it would have been fine. We wouldn't have wanted you to stay out if you weren't feeling well.” Zayn explained.

“You should have said something, Hazza. You almost died today... We almost lost you.” Niall said, his voice grew more quiet as he finished, and his hold on his youngest boyfriend instinctively tightened.

“M' sorry.” Harry mumbled sheepishly, looking down at the bed again. “I didn't want to burden any of you guys.”

“B-burden?!” Louis blurted, he was totally perplexed. “Love, you would not have been a burden to us, and you have never been a burden. We love you, Harry, and if anything is wrong, it's okay to tell us, no matter what we are doing.”

“Especially if it concerns your health, baby.” Liam added before he begun to stroke the boy's long curls.

The doctor, who had been standing there, cleared his throat. “Um, I'll see myself out and return at a later time.” He gestured towards the door before hurriedly exiting the room, shutting the door behind him before Harry could reassure him that his departure wasn't necessary.

An awkward silence filled the room until Louis spoke up again. “Did you really think you would have upset any of us, Haz?”

Harry swallowed and then nodded. “You were all having such a good time, I just couldn't bring myself to be the one to put an end to it.”

Liam sighed before letting out a small chuckle. “You're too considerate for your own good, Harry.”

“Yeah,” Niall agreed. “And one of these days, it might get you killed.” He joked.

“And we wouldn't want that to happen.” Zayn said softly, he cupped the younger man's cheek with his hand and slowly connected their lips together.

Harry broke apart from the kiss and smiled widely as he glanced at each of his boyfriends. He felt so loved, and it was amazing. He certainly felt bad for not telling any of them that he'd been having some problems with his asthma, causing them all to worry. But thankfully, everything had worked out, he was still alive, his boyfriends didn't hate him for being secretive about a rather important issue, all was well in the end. “Lads, I love you all.” The short 19-year old said, his cute dimples prominently showing.

Everyone else smiled before they were all playfully fighting amongst each other to steal a kiss from their little Harry. That was shortly settled with Louis being the last in line. “We love you too, Hazza. Just promise us that you'll tell us next time you have a problem, yeah?”

“I will.” Harry pledged.

“Good.”

Harry and Niall felt the mattress sink down and they looked over to see Zayn climbing onto the bed. The raven-haired man lied down next to the Irishman and he brought an arm up and wrapped it around the other two. Harry carefully shifted over Niall so that he could rest between him and Zayn. Liam looked thoughtfully at the three, he wouldn't mind joining them but there was no more room on the bed. A distinctive light rumbling noise was heard and he looked over towards the door. His eyes widened when he saw Louis pushing a vacant hospital bed into Harry's room and parking it adjacent to Harry's bed.

“Um, Louis?” Liam asked tentatively.

“Don't worry.” The older man said casually as he dropped the railings on both beds. “No one was using it.”

Liam had opened his mouth to protest, but then decided against it. He sighed and crawled onto the beds, Louis followed suit. Harry soon had an arm or a hand on him somewhere, gently caressing his features, rubbing his soft curls, or holding him in a protective embrace. The youngest band member sighed contently, feeling perfectly at peace with his boyfriends by his side. Finally having the chance to drift off, he did just that, His head came to rest on Zayn's and Niall's shoulders, Liam reached down and pulled a blanket over the five of the as best he could, as it was barely big enough to cover all of them with how spread out they were on the two beds. Louis nestled his face into the back Liam's neck, planting soft kisses, Zayn turned his face towards Liam and two snogged lightly, being careful not to disturb their littlest boyfriend's slumber. Niall ignored the show and kept all of his attention on Harry, who was fast asleep. He smiled once more before burying his face into the younger lad's ticklish curls.

A knock on the door went unheard by the five men and the doctor from earlier walked in. He stopped when he saw the group on two beds, snuggling with each other. He smiled a little at the sweet sight before retreating out of the room, quietly shutting the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I had childhood asthma myself, my knowledge about the condition in general is pretty lacking, so I hope I did all right.
> 
> On a totally different topic, during the open dance at my brother's wedding, I was the one who requested the DJ to play "What Makes You Beautiful", and I felt no shame. :)


	7. Fireworks and Floats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The five boys try to make the best out of being at a stuffy hotel in southern USA in the middle of Summer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late for July, but better late than never...
> 
> It's on the short side, but it does involve short Har... Oh, heck, you get the idea by now.

“This bloody heat.” Louis cursed before wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. The man lay sprawled out on the sofa of the stuffy hotel room he was in. He had nothing on but a pair of boxers, and he periodically fanned himself with a magazine he couldn't be bothered to read.

The band was back on the road, promoting their latest album that was coming out soon, they had a busy schedule ahead. It was business as usual. But out of all of the places to wind up at in July, it had to be the southern U.S., where it was hot, as one would expect it to be in the desert. The air conditioning at the hotel they were staying in had quit and a maintenance crew was busy trying to get it back up and running, but they couldn't finish fast enough as far as Louis was concerned. Everyone had been urged to stay indoors during the heatwave, but Louis wanted nothing more than to take a dip in a swimming pool, even if the water wasn't cold. The hotel's indoor pool has been crowded all day with tourists, meaning there was no chance that any of the boys could go down there without someone recognizing them.

Speaking of the boys, Liam was in the small kitchen making lemonade, and Zayn, Niall and Harry were sat on another sofa in front of the TV set watching _Ice Age_ in a futile attempt to distract themselves from the heat. The temperature was so bad, they couldn't even cuddle while the movie played, they all had to sit several inches apart just to avoid getting any warmer.

“Lemonade, boys!” Daddy Direction Liam called. With what little energy he possessed, Louis got up from the sofa and trudged towards the kitchen. His bare feet padded on the carpeting and much to his disappointment, even the tile floor in the kitchen was warm to the touch. The feathery-haired man sighed and accepted one of the glasses. Half tempted to just dump the cool beverage over himself, Louis held the cup against his face. He sighed with relief as the cold glass provided a temporary break from the agonizing heat. The other three boys came over, Liam handed Niall and Zayn their glasses before handing another to Harry, they all mirrored Louis' actions and held the cold drinks against their bare skin.

“You lads might be happy to know that it will cool off some tonight.” Liam said as he put down his phone.

“I can't freaking wait.” Louis commented before gulping down his lemonade.

“Just in time for the fireworks show.” Harry noted.

Louis sat his empty glass down and raised an eyebrow. “Fireworks show? What are you talking about, love?”

Harry turned his gaze up to meet that of his taller boyfriend's. “Don't you know what today is?”

“4 July, 2017?” Louis answered hesitantly.

“It's Independence Day.” The curly-haired boy said. “America's birthday. I wanna watch the fireworks tonight. There will be a display at the park down the street.”

“Seriously though, Hazza?” Louis asked, a slight smirk forming over his face. “You want to celebrate the day a bunch of peasants betrayed us?”

“Louis.” Harry whined. “And yes, I do.” He affirmed.

It wasn't the most well known fact about Harry Styles, but it was far from a secret as well, that he was a rather huge fan of American culture. Their pastimes like American football, their patriotism, even their food were intriguing to the Cheshire lad. He'd always wanted to attend an actual Fourth of July fireworks show, but had never gotten an opportunity in the past, but today seemed to be as good of chance as any to remove another item off his bucket list, and he also knew that none of his boyfriends would say 'no'. He didn't like to take advantage of that fact, but once in a great while, he was willing to make an exception.

“Sounds fine to me, babe.” Liam said before leaning over, he rested his hands on Harry's shoulders and connected his lips onto the younger man's. Their eyes closed and a content hum emitted from Harry. After the passionate moment ended, Liam stood upright and asked to the other three, “What you lads think?”

“Sounds like fun.” Niall answered.

”Count me in.” Zayn added.

“Louis?” Harry inquired, returning his gaze to the Doncaster man. Louis rubbed his chin thoughtfully before nodding with a smile. “Of course, love.” He bent down and effortlessly lifted their adorably small boyfriend into his arms. “Anything for our little Hazza.” Harry found himself in another kiss, not that he minded in the slightest. The shorter man was mesmerized by Louis' bright blue eyes before shutting his own to savor the moment. Afterwards, Louis then put Harry back down on the floor.

“C'mere.” Zayn said, crouching down with his arms out. Grinning, Harry trotted over to the Bradford man and was lifted up once again. Zayn brought the tip of his nose against Harry's and nuzzled them together, causing the shorter singer to giggle. “It should almost be illegal to be as cute as you are, H.” The raven-haired lad chuckled. Harry simply blushed and looked down at the floor.

“Good thing it isn't.” Niall piped in as he snaked an arm over and ruffled Harry's curls. “What on Earth would we ever do if it was, though?”

“Hmm,” Louis thought aloud before a mischievous smirk appeared on his face. Liam already found himself rolling his eyes before the older man had even begun to speak. “We'd have to visit Harry at the gaol every day.”

“But we would never let that happen in the first place. Right, lads?” Niall asked, subconsciously moving closer to Harry who was still in Zayn's arms, while Zayn found himself instinctively tightening his hold on their youngest, as if letting Harry go would result in the world ending in total disaster.

“Never in a million years.” Liam affirmed, shifting closer to the bunch, wrapping one arm around Zayn's shoulders with Niall sandwiched between them, then leaning over to plant reassuring kisses all over Harry's red, dimpled face.

“Indeed.” Louis finally agreed. Not wanting to be left out, he came over to Zayn's left side then gently poked at Harry's dimples. “If they ever wanted to take away our Hazza, they'd have to pry him from our cold, dead hands.”

Harry cooed at the absolute adorableness he found in the protectiveness of his four amazing boyfriends. “You lads...” He giggled. “I will always feel safe with you all around, I never have to worry about bad things happening to me when we're all together.” He then proceeded to kiss each one of them on the lips, savoring each unique flavor they had to offer. “I love you all, each and every one of you.” He concluded with a bright smile and sparkling emerald eyes. The other boys all cooed in response.

“We love you too, Harry.” Liam said softly, caressing the curly-haired boy's face. “We will always love you, forever and always.”

“And we will always be there for you, Hazzabear.” Niall contributed.

“And for each other.” Zayn added, readjusting his hold on the smaller lad, trying to ignore the protesting muscles in his arms that desperately wanted a break.

“And luckily for you, love, your cuteness isn't illegal, so there's nothing anybody can do about it anyway.” Louis joked, now in a miniature war with Niall over who gets to run their fingertips through Harry's soft locks.

“Not that we'd ever give them the chance.” Liam pointed out.

“ _Chonce_ , Liam!” Niall corrected while failing hide a smile. “Get it right, mate.”

Liam shook his head at the Irishman and chuckled. “Whatever, _Neil._ ”

* * *

Louis exhaled and removed more sweat from his forehead before any could get into his eyes. He was close to shedding off his boxers and wandering their hotel room nude, not that it's even a sight that the other four residents haven't seen before... But just when he was about to do just that, a soft thud was heard followed by a consistent humming, and the stuffy hotel room suddenly became that much more bearable. A collective cheer emitted from the group.

“Finally!” Niall exclaimed, rushing over to the spot where the vent was blowing cool air from the ceiling. He spread his arms and legs and tipped his head back in pure bliss as the cooler air blew on him. The others followed suit.

“About bloody time.” Louis cursed. “I was this close to stripping down to my birthday suit.” He demonstrated by holding up one hand with his thumb and finger tips together.

“Yeah?” Harry asked. “But what's stopping you from doing that anyway?” Smirking, the shortest band member pressed a hand against Louis' thigh and slowly rode it upwards beneath the older singer's boxers. Oblivious to Harry's suggestive behavior, Louis cocked an eyebrow and smirked back down at his littlest boyfriend while waving a finger. “Behave yourself, now, Hazza.”

Never ceasing his actions, Harry replied. “But what if I don't want to just yet?”

Niall laughed sheepishly. “Is somebody feeling playful?” The blonde's blue eyes sparkled when he noticed Louis' face twitch with Harry's hand still in the man's undergarments.

“Get a room, lads.” Liam joked. In the corner of his eye, he then caught Zayn grinning towards him. “Splendid idea.” The raven-haired man said calmly. After casting silent glances, smirks, and raised eyebrows at each other, they all found themselves walking hand-in-hand over to the bed.

* * *

Liam finished tying his shoes before giving himself a once-over in the mirror. Satisfied with his plain black t-shirt and jeans, he looked at the clock on the wall. Seeing that it was almost time for the fireworks show, he went over to the bathroom where Louis and Niall were working together to brush some knots out of Harry's curls while Zayn shaved.

Niall grimaced as he fought with an uncooperative knot, causing Harry to emit a small whimper. “Last one, Hazzabear.” The Irish lad reassured the shorter man. Finally, the brush went through the tangle and Niall sighed with relief before pulling out the strands of stray curls and dropping them in the trash bin.

“You all right, honey?” Zayn asked with concern after noticing a single tear falling down Harry's cheek.

“'M fine.” Harry answered. “It just hurt a little.” He explained. “It's one of those things I don't particularly like about my curls.”

“But they'll always be beautiful.” Louis smiled, freely running his fingers through the boy's soft, freshly-brushed hair.

“Just not as beautiful as Harry.” Niall said before kissing the younger man, whose cheeks quickly turned into a shade of crimson. Soon enough, the simple kiss was becoming increasingly heated, and Liam cleared his throat rather loudly to grab their attention before things got out of hand—again.

“We must be off soon so we don't miss the display.” Daddy Direction Liam announced. Expressing their agreements, the others finished up quickly and they hurried out the door.

The walk to the park where the fireworks show was being held was short, as it was just down the street from their hotel. Despite the scorching heat from earlier, the night was an almost pleasant coolness, Louis was especially grateful. The street were desolate, very few vehicles and even fewer people walking about. As they approached the park, they could already make out a very large crowd gathered on the grass, the car park was completely full, and there were many more vehicles parked on the street.

“Seems like the whole city wants to watch the fireworks.” Niall observed.

They settled for a spot at the back of the crowd close to the sidewalk, just in case there were any One Direction fangirls or fanboys also present for the show and they would need to make a quick getaway. Harry gazed up at the stranger's back he was currently facing and frowned. Curse his annoyingly short height! But it was as if his mind could be read in that moment as he then found himself being lifted up and onto Niall's and Louis' shoulders. The two older boyfriends each took a hand and clung onto Harry's ankles just in case he were to fall off, and Liam and Zayn stood on opposite sides, each had a hand against the curly-haired lad's back for extra support.

An American patriotic tune that none of the boys could identify except for Harry began playing from some nearby speakers, and before long, the first firework was launched into the air and it lit up the night sky with a bang. Some fireworks flew up with a loud whistling sound, others were fairly silent, and they would either explode with a loud boom, a pop followed by crackling, or a soft poof. A white ball would speed upwards and explode into any number of beautiful colours, the now coloured balls of light would pop out in all directions, then gradually fall back to the Earth, their light fading into the night sky beforehand. People clapped in cheered as the fireworks grew more and more impressive.

About 30 minutes in, a whole slew of fireworks were launched in what the boys could tell was the show's finale. A fantastic array of colours flashed as the fireworks popped in the sky. When no more fireworks appeared and the music had stopped playing, the boys took that as their cue to hightail it before getting caught in the crowd, or worse yet, mobbed. They headed back to their hotel but not before Zayn and Louis urged the rest of them to go on ahead, as they planned to stop at the convenience store that was next to the hotel. Assuming that they were going to buy cigarettes, Liam, Niall, and Harry chose not to press for details, as they were now tired from their mini excursion and were almost ready for bed.

They got up to their room and Louis and Zayn appeared a few minutes later. They had brought with them not cigarettes, but a container of vanilla ice cream, a case of orange soda, an ice cream scoop, and plastic spoons. Confused, Liam asked them what they planned to do with the items, he got no solid answer other than “you'll see.” Harry and Niall were both very curious, so they followed the two into the kitchen with Liam trailing behind. The items were sat on the counter, Louis got out five cups and Zayn packed scoops of vanilla ice cream into them. Louis then cracked open five cans of orange soda and poured part of the contents into the cups of ice cream, only stopping before any foam could pour out and onto the counter. Louis took a cup and sucked up some of the foam, it tasted like a foamy orange creme-cicle. He licked any remaining foam off of his lips and proceeded to pour more orange soda onto the ice cream. Zayn then handed Harry, Niall, and Liam each a can of soda and a cup with a plastic spoon before grabbing his own and they sat down in front of some random movie on TV while enjoying their orange soda floats.

“Mmm.” Harry hummed, licking his lips free of any remnants of the tangy, sweet, creamy concoction. “Thank you Zayn and Louis.” He said after finishing his treat. “You're ever so welcome, love.” Louis responded, ruffling the boy's curls. They continued watching TV for a while, allowing all of the sugar they had consumed settle before they hunkered down for bed.

After brushing their teeth, they got undressed but couldn't be bothered to put much on for pajamas, even with the AC still blasting. One by one, they climbed into bed and slid under the sheet. Harry was situated in the middle with Liam and Louis to his left and Zayn and Niall to his right. Once everyone was snuggled in, Niall reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. The blonde than pressed himself against Zayn's back and draped an arm over the Bradford man, resting a hand on Harry's left side. Louis wrapped one arm around Liam's waist, then reached around Liam's head with his other arm and gently stroked Harry's soft curls, The soothing motion was relaxing and nearly lulled the Cheshire lad to sleep.

“Goodnight lads, I love you.” Harry mumbled before his eyes drooped shut.

“We love you too,” The other four boyfriends whispered in unison. “Sleep well, our little Harry.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Offering my thanks to all who've read, and/or kudo'd, commented, bookmarked, or subscribed!
> 
> To clarify, I have never written smut before, but am considering it for a separate story.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this story, please leave a kudo!


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